Keke Palmer made waves recently when she was cast as Cinderella in the Broadway musical. Palmer is now officially the first African-American woman to take on the iconic role in the musical. For Essence magazine’s January issue, they decided to do a feature on Palmer who also appears on the magazine’s cover. Palmer looks absolutely gorgeous on the cover, with her black and white-patterned party dress and glam-inspired make-up. Essence’s feature on Palmer focuses on her views regarding her new status as “the first African-American Cinderella on Broadway” as well as her love life and career.

“I know that the role of Cinderella is primarily for a Caucasian girl, but it didn’t stop me from going in and it didn’t stop them from seeing me,” the 21-year-old Palmer tells the magazine. “There is a bit of intimidation. You think about Denzel [Washington], Viola Davis, and you think, ‘Only great people can do Broadway.’ That was the scariest thing about it, but I’m the type who thrives on pressure…”

Vixens, are you feeling Keke’s cover look for Essence’s January 2015 cover? http://t.co/tcFFWTntwu pic.twitter.com/O6oi8J7hKF

— Vibe Vixen (@VIBEvixen) December 4, 2014

Palmer also revealed that she has broken up with someone recently and this gave her a new perspective on her life. “I realized that I’m a lot freer of a spirit. That was the beginning of me standing up for myself,” she says. “I would love to have somebody but this is such a great time in my life, in my career. I really am liking myself.”

Keke made her debut as Cinderella on September 9. She is joined by Sherri Shepherd and NeNe Leakes who each play Cinderella’s evil stepmother.

Keke Palmer is a singer and actress who has appeared in films such as Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Madea’s Family Reunion, and Ice Age: Continental Drift among others. She turned heads when she starred in the critically acclaimed film Akeelah and The Bee about an 11-year-old girl who joins the Scripps National Spelling Bee.