Editor’s Note: This edition of 20Q with Keke Palmer was written by Joelle Monique and originally appeared in 2019 in Playboy Magazine.

Q1: You’ve spoken openly about how you manage anxiety and depression, and reportedly, Will Smith called you when you were 17 years and said, “Listen, we all go through this. Keep your head up. Keep pushing.” Aside from being an actress whose new film, Hustlers, is in theaters September 13, you’re cohosting a daytime talk show on ABC, you’ve launched a record label, Big Bosses Entertainment, and you’re an author, having published I Don’t Belong to You: Quiet the Noise and Find Your Voice in 2017. How do you juggle this while managing anxiety or depression?

PALMER: My awareness of it is what has helped me manage it. I first started talking about it when I was 18 or 19 years old. Even though I had been kind of working through it for a long time, I didn’t have the words to understand it. My awareness is what allows me to say, Okay, maybe I need to call with my therapist, or maybe I need to fit in a bit of a vacation. I know how to identify it quicker—and the identification of it is what allows me to get through it. I’m able to acknowledge, to some degree, I’m going into it. That’s my anxiety talking. That’s me being overworked. I need to take a break.

Q2: What kind of energy is Keke Palmer trying to put out in the world?

PALMER: Oh my gosh. Be a renaissance woman! You know, that’s what I consider myself. I want everybody to be able to feel like they can do multiple things and feel like they don’t have to be one-note. I think we’re made to feel like we can only have one skill. That’s what holds us back. That feeling that this is our identity, and this is what we have to stick to. For me, I would love to express that my identity is dynamic in everything that I do. It’s not one thing. I’m not one thing. I don’t always know all the answers, but at the same time, I have wisdom. Showing that it’s okay to be multifaceted and to have contradicting character and that you can still be true to who you are.

Q3: We’re seeing the dynamic aspect of your personality on your daytime talk show, GMA3: Strahan, Sara, & Keke, which you joined officially in August after filling in as a guest host while Sara Haines was on maternity leave. You’re 26. Michael Strahan is 47 and Haines is 41. Does it ever feel like you’re a teenager working with your parents?

PALMER: We always make that joke. I feel like people don’t even know how dope Sara is. Like the conversations I have with her, if you just close your eyes, you would think we were the same age. With Michael, it’s like we do have that kind of… I don’t want to say father because he’s not that old, but we do have this kind of like older brother type vibe. They both have been so embracing toward me.Q4: With the age gap, what have you taught them?

PALMER: I’m always teaching them the millennial stuff. I call myself the millennial diva. So I’ll be putting Sarah on to all phrases. I’m like, “My girl, you gotta say you sent me with that when somebody makes you laugh.” I be teaching Michael dance moves. But they also be teaching me stuff, too. It’s so funny because a lot of times I’ll say stuff that my dad says. I’ll say old man phrases like, “Oh, I’m just cat-ing with you.” And Michael will be like, “What?” I’m like, “That’s your era, Michael.” He’s like, “Keke, I never said this.” Oh man, we used to have a little game we used to play. A generation game to see how much each of us knew about each other’s generation. I knew damn near more than he did.

Q5: You’ve lived in Los Angeles since childhood, but you still refer to Chicago as your home. What is it about Chicago that has had such a profound impact on you?

PALMER: It’s so funny because when I refer to L.A., my home would be Pasadena. That’s where I grew up. But I think at 10, I had still developed an identity for Illinois. I feel like that foundation is still a major part of me. That Midwestern mentality, you know? We’re a really down-to-Earth group of people; like salt of the earth. We have an everyday mindset, even though there’s so much creativity there. It comes from such a raw place. That’s what I think about when I think about people from Chicago. People say it like it is. They’ve got a keep-it-real type attitude.

Q6: Okay, so let’s pretend you’re building your perfect partner. What components does he or she possess?

PALMER: They’ve got to be compassionate, humorous and secure. Not necessarily financially secure, but they need to be secure with who they are and what they want. It can be overbearing if you’re dating someone with a career like mine and you’re not sure of what it is you want to do; what it is you’re passionate about. Whether it be painting or selling t-shirts on the street, if you’re not secure in that, I’ve found it can be problematic.

Q7: That distills the essence of dating in Los Angeles, right? Everyone hates the L.A. dating scene but desperate to find love and insecure about their hustle. What’s wrong with us?

PALMER: L.A. can be so kicked back that it’s almost fake. You’re working hard, you’re hustling, but at what point are you distinguishing working from being a real, authentic person? We’re looking for love because everything’s beautiful here, including the people. The idea of getting out there and finding someone becomes so idealized in a place like California. At the same time, it’s so difficult because there are so many people. Therefore, it becomes challenging for us to know who’s keeping it real, who really wants this, and who’s just here for the fun. You never really know what anybody’s intentions are.

Q8: Steve Harvey famously tried to give you dating advice that boiled down to “date wealthy men” on his talk show. Why is that such bad advice?

PALMER: It ends up making women like myself feel like there’s no place for us. If the only way I can get a man is to either be a damn damsel in distress or if he’s a billionaire, I’m going to be singing for the rest of my life, right? So what’s a woman supposed to do? No, we shouldn’t settle. No, we shouldn’t change from what it is we want. But I think we also have to be realistic.

You might meet the woman that you love, and she might have it better than you. There needs to be a dialogue shift. How do we define healthy boundaries for a relationship where the woman is in what was once considered the male position? We’re not having enough of those conversations. Instead, we shame the woman for being fab.

Q9: How can diva millennials better communicate to the Gen Xers and Baby Boomers some of our ideals?

PALMER: Define what you want your relationship to look like, based off of you. And don’t let everybody in your business. I’m a Virgo. We always have to talk everything out. But the reality is that the world is changing. Gender roles are blurring. So let’s embrace that by being true to ourselves as individuals. Let’s be truthful with ourselves. That’s what’s going to make you happy. Then you can be an example to others who are realizing their desires do not look the same way everybody else’s do.Q10: By the way, happy golden birthday. As a Virgo, what makes your sign better than every other sign?

PALMER: I hate to put everybody out like this but what makes Virgos better is that we pay attention to detail. We have incredible follow-through. We are empathetic but we keep it real. We’re careful, and we’re sensitive to other people’s feelings because we have this awareness that allows us to analyze what we’re going to say. The downsides are that we’re a little neurotic. And we could be a little bit of a perfectionist. Other than that, we’re spectacular. We’re fucking incredible.

Q11: If you were teaching a seminar to straight cis-gendered men about the one thing they could do to be better at sex, what would you tell them?

PALMER: Take your time. Use your hands. Be tender. Women like to be touched and caressed and squeezed. And you know, don’t be afraid to chit chat. Don’t be afraid to say a little something. Tell her she’s beautiful. Say, “I love that”. Touch her face, caress her hair, squeezing her body while all this motion is going in the ocean. You’ve got to make sure it’s all senses plus. Kiss, too. It’s always going to be good when you get the combo of kissing going at the same time. That’s next level.Q12: Did you learn the art of exotic dance for Hustlers, or were you relying on your moves?

PALMER: Lily [Reinheart] and I took pole-dancing classes together. We did them just because we’re both Virgos, and we wanted to be able to pull some stuff from our arsenal. But we didn’t have many of those types of scenes. We have scenes in the club but I never had to do any specific pole work. Whereas Metta [Towley], who did Pharelle’s Lemonade video and is also starring in Cats, had a pole-dancing scene. She had to do a couple of classes for that. I know that Jennifer [Lopez] trained for a while because she had an extensive scene, and she fucking killed that. I’ve been a fan of Jennifer for my whole life. Her character in this movie…the iconic looks. She’s able to give you star, and still give you character, and that’s what I live for.

Q13: If the cast of Hustlers were to have a pole-dancing competition, who would win?

PALMER: Jennifer would win. If Cardi B was there, she would win. She knows what the hell she’s doing. If I had a little bit more time with the pole, I would be neck and neck with the girls. I need to get the upper body strength together because it’s a lot harder than it looks. If I try to lift myself, I’m 140 pounds. That’s not as easy as I would like it to be.Q14: You have 11 tattoos, right?

PALMER: I think that’s right.

Q15: Can you tell us what a few mean mean?

PALMER: I have this one on my ankle, which is the anchor I did with my childhood best friend, Taylor Parks. She stays writing hits. Me and her got this when we were like 19. She did like most of Arianna’s current album, including “7 Rings,” and she’s worked for Fifth Harmony. She’s so down, so I just like shout that out whenever I’m talking about her.

Then I have “God is love,” which I did in New Orleans, which I mean, of course, God is love. We know what that’s about. It’s like my worst tattoo, but I think the rawness of it is what makes it charming.

This tattoo, on the back of my neck, says “Queen of Kush.” I put Queen of Kush, so when people ask me about it I could tell them, “Well actually that’s the first civilization in Africa.” I wanted to be able to educate. On the small of my back, I’ve got “renaissance woman.” People always talked about that spot on the body as the tramp stamp spot. But I thought it was a cute spot to get a tattoo. I’m not gonna let anybody make me feel like I can’t get this area tattooed. So I reclaimed it.

My first tattoo says, “Don’t cast thy pearls before swine.” It’s biblical. And then this one I have is “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.” And I always love this quote from Aristotle. I liked it because it reminds me that, you know, everything is a habit in life. It’s teaching yourself and doing things consistently, that lead you to where you want to go. It’s not necessarily something you’re fundamentally born with, and that’s okay. It’s what you create. That makes me feel really in control.

Q16: As someone who describes herself as a renaissance woman, what haven’t you done yet that you’re excited to do?

PALMER: Go to college. I think maybe that’ll be something that I try on, into my 26th year. You know, take up something that is fun and just a different world then what I’m into. I’m thinking about culinary school.

Q17: Do you feel like you’re connecting with your fans through social and impact does that have on you as a performer?

PALMER: Social media was very crucial in my trajectory as an entertainer. Having the freedom to post content took my creativity to the next level. I was no longer in a traditional position of asking someone to look at my work or begging for an audition. It put me in a place where I could tell people the kind of work I wanted to do, especially when it comes to comedy. For me, I wanted to showcase my comedic ability. It’s hard to find a script that someone else has written to showcase that. So I said, “You know what? I’m just going to do this on my Instagram page, and I’m going to show my personality this way.”Q18: Did you ever read PLAYBOY when you were younger?

PALMER: I don’t remember having a moment where I found my dad’s PLAYBOYs per se. I remember seeing it in the movies. By the time I started looking at it, I was old enough to see it. The sex appeal [of the women] was so perfectly expressed. Each theme had its vibe, you know? I love that. Like if a comedian was posing, there was some sense of humor. The photos were sexy for that person.

Q19: How do you feel about your photoshoot?

PALMER: I feel the same way. It’s old Hollywood, love. I’m the black Judy Garland. Sexy vaudevillian, baby. That’s me fitting me into the equation. My mama used to always tell me, “Don’t let anybody stop you from showcasing all your talents. You’re old talent. Look at MGM. Look at Paramount. They were singing, they were dancing, and they were acting. You can do all that.”

Q20: You’ve been a blonde, a redhead, and a brunette. Who really has more fun?

PALMER: Honestly, red. I know what they say about blondes, but them redheads be getting their life.

Catch up on more of the 20Q series here.