Keke Palmer has maintained main character energy for quite some time now.

In addition to being a prominent actress, she’s built an empire across television and film, music, and more that has amounted to a staggering net worth, which she revealed is over $7.5 million.

However, with most success stories, there are also jarring eye-openers.

During an interview with Terrell Grice, Palmer shed light into a “tough” period in her life that followed her time on Nickelodeon’s “True Jackson, VP.”

Obstacles As Child Star

As a child star making her transition into more mature roles, it created a standstill. So, Palmer leaned further into her love for music.

“I was off of ‘True Jackson, VP.’ Acting had kind of gotten to that murky age,” Palmer on “The Terrell Show.” “Now when you go from being a child star to trying to transition over as an adult, it can be really difficult because you’re like too young seeming, but then also too old for maybe some younger roles. So, it was just hard for me to really kind of figure out how to rebrand myself, so to speak. So, I was focused on my music.”

Interscope Records Owed Her Money

In the aftermath of receiving money owed by Interscope Records, Palmer reflects on the last few coins she poured into musical projects including “Dance Alone” and “You Got Me.”

“‘Dance Alone’ was an era where I had just got off of Interscope Records. They owed me a bunch of money and I said, ‘Gimme that money and lemme do my own project,'” Palmer recalled to Grice.

She continued, “Honey, I put it all into that project. We did ‘Dance Alone.’ We did ‘You Got Me’…and then I was like, ‘I’m broke child.’ That ate my damn cash up. ‘I need to go back to do some lines. Who got a part for me?’ That was some tough years.”

Palmer soon discovered that her investments in her musical career were causing her considerable financial problems, which eventually led to her applying for bank loans.

“It’s pretty hard to make money doing music unless you’re like going on tour,” she explained to Grice. “I didn’t have any of that set up. So, it was kinda like I had did all this investment, and then I was kind of like, ‘What do I do now? The bills kept needing to be paid, and I didn’t have a gig coming, so I went into debt.”

She added, “I was just on the prowl and had to ask the bank for a couple of loans.”

In hindsight, Palmer says she understands the journey toward success is not linear. From the wise words of her mother, “You don’t lose until you stop.”

Today, Palmer is at the top of her game. As AfroTech previously shared, she’s launched her own digital network to empower creators of color.

She’s also still releasing new music, which you can tune into on her platform.