Joey King Bio
Joey Lynn King, born on July 30, 1999, in Los Angeles, California, is an American actress whose career has spanned feature films, streaming series, and voice work since she was a child. She first captured widespread attention as the title character in the family film Ramona and Beezus (2010) and later became a global star through the Netflix teen series The Kissing Booth films, in which she played Elle Evans. Her dramatic turn as Gypsy Rose Blanchard in the Hulu crime anthology series The Act (2019) established her as a serious performer and earned her nominations for major television awards.
Across her career, King has built a varied resume that includes blockbuster action films, romantic comedies, horror, and animated features. She has appeared in projects ranging from The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Bullet Train (2022) to voice work in Horton Hears a Who! (2008) and Despicable Me 4 (2024), demonstrating her range as a leading actress in Hollywood.
Early Life and Background
Joey Lynn King was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, growing up in a household with creative influences that encouraged her early interest in performance. She has two older sisters, one of whom is the actress Hunter King, and her mother is of Jewish descent. King has spoken about her Jewish identity in interviews, noting that she is Jewish without being strongly religious.
As a child, King sang a cappella at a talent show held at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center and trained with the Stage Door Children’s Theatre in Agoura. She attended Phoenix Ranch School in Simi Valley, where she continued to develop her performance skills. Her first professional work came at the age of four, when she appeared in a commercial for Life Cereal, followed by additional commercials for brands such as AT&T, Kay Jewelers, and Eggo.
Path to Acting
King’s transition from commercials and stage work to on-screen acting began in the mid-2000s, when she started landing small roles in television and film. Her early television appearances included guest spots on series such as Ghost Whisperer, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Jericho, Entourage, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Medium. These small roles allowed her to gain on-set experience and to build the foundations of a long-term acting career.
Her first major voice role came in 2008, when she voiced the yellow fur ball Katie in the animated feature Horton Hears a Who!. She followed that with a role in the horror film Quarantine and a string of small film and television parts. By the time she was cast as Ramona Quimby in the 2010 family film Ramona and Beezus, an adaptation of Beverly Cleary’s beloved book series, she had already developed a working knowledge of the industry and a growing list of credits.
Joey King Career
Early Career (2006–2016)
Joey Lynn King made her film debut with a small part in the 2007 drama Reign Over Me, while continuing to appear in commercials and television. Her first lead role arrived in 2010 with Ramona and Beezus, where she played the imaginative Ramona Quimby. The role earned her a Young Artist Award and remains one of her most recognized early performances. She also recorded a single titled Ramona Blue to promote the film.
Throughout the early 2010s, King built a strong resume with roles in major studio releases. She appeared in Battle: Los Angeles (2011) and co-starred in the romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011). In 2012, she played a young Talia al Ghul in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, and in 2013 she appeared in Oz the Great and Powerful, White House Down, Family Weekend, and the horror hit The Conjuring. She took on the role of Greta Grimly in FX’s Fargo from 2014 to 2015 and continued working across film and television through 2016.
Breakthrough (2017–Present)
Joey Lynn King’s breakthrough as a leading actress arrived in 2018 with Netflix’s teen romantic comedy The Kissing Booth, in which she starred as Elle Evans. The film became a global hit for the streaming service, and she returned to the role in the sequels The Kissing Booth 2 (2020) and The Kissing Booth 3 (2021). The trilogy introduced her to a worldwide audience and cemented her as a prominent young star in streaming-era Hollywood.
In 2019, King took on the dramatic role of Gypsy Rose Blanchard in Hulu’s true crime anthology series The Act. The performance required her to shave her head for the third time in her career and earned her nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Critics’ Choice Award. She later appeared in the action films Bullet Train (2022) and The Princess (2022), the Hulu limited series We Were the Lucky Ones, and the 2024 Netflix romantic comedy A Family Affair. She also voiced a character in the animated film Despicable Me 4 (2024), further expanding her range across formats.
Notable Works and Milestones
Joey Lynn King is widely recognized for the Ramona and Beezus film, The Kissing Booth trilogy, and her performance in The Act, which stands as a defining dramatic milestone in her career. She has balanced family-friendly projects, teen-focused films, and prestige television, while also contributing voice work to major animated features. Her early awards, including a Young Artist Award for Ramona and Beezus and an Honourable Mention for Emerging Actress at the 2015 Vancouver International Film Festival for Borealis, have marked her as a talent to watch from an early age.
Joey King Award Nominations
Joey Lynn King has received nominations for several of the most respected awards in television and film. Her portrayal of Gypsy Rose Blanchard in The Act (2019) earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, and a Critics’ Choice Award nomination. These nominations reflect the strong critical response to her dramatic work and have positioned her among the prominent young actresses of her generation.
Joey King Awards Won
Joey Lynn King won a Young Artist Award for her performance as Ramona Quimby in the family film Ramona and Beezus (2010), an early recognition of her work as a child actress. At the 2015 Vancouver International Film Festival, she received an Honourable Mention recognizing her as an Emerging Actress for her role in the film Borealis. These honors represent the verified awards she has won during her career.
Joey King Family
Joey Lynn King grew up in Los Angeles with two older sisters, including the actress Hunter King. Her mother is of Jewish descent, a background King has discussed in interviews. She has described her family as a steady presence throughout her early years in the entertainment industry, supporting her career from the time she began acting in commercials as a young child.
Personal Life
Joey Lynn King began a relationship with producer and director Steven Piet in 2019, after the two met on the set of The Act. They became engaged in February 2022 and married on September 2, 2023, in Mallorca, Spain. King has also been open about her personal interests and views, including her support for the Israeli judicial reform protests in 2023 and her signing of the No Hostage Left Behind open letter in October 2023.