Though she hasn't been alive for a quarter of a century, actress and producer Joey King has already worked with Brad Pitt, earned both an Emmy AND a Golden Globe nomination and started her own production company.
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At just 24-years-old, King has made a name for herself in Hollywood and has no intentions to stop her skyrocketing career anytime soon.
She made her first appearance on camera at just 4 years old in a commercial and hasn't stopped since.
After working in the industry for decades, you might recognize King from any number of her hit shows or films. And she has earned her stripes in both comedies and dramas, aptly switching between the two genres.
The actress is ramping up for an exciting year of new movies in 2024 with at least two of her highly-anticipated projects set to premiere sometime this year.
King will star as Tally Youngblood in the upcoming science fiction film "The Uglies," based on a novel by Scott Wersterfield. She'll also perform alongside award-winning actors Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman in a soon-to-be-released romantic comedy, "A Family Affair."
But it's taken the actress many years to find her footing in Hollywood. Who is the short girl with so much talent? Here's everything we know about the Los Angeles native:
Joey King's Early Roles
Joey King in 2010 / Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images
Born in LA in 1999, King's fate as a future movie star was basically already sealed.
Both of her older sisters, Kelli and Hunter King, are also actresses, so she was born into a family of entertainers.
After grabbing her first commercial, King earned a few small speaking roles in shows like Disney Channel's "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" and "Malcolm In The Middle."
But her breakout finally came when she was 9 years old. King caught the eye of Hollywood when she starred as Ramona in the film adaptation of the Beverly Cleary novel "Ramona and Beezus" (2010). From there, her film credits began to multiply.
She landed a role playing Emma Stone's little sister and Steve Carrell's daughter Molly in the award-winning film "Crazy, Stupid, Love" (2011). Then she was cast in director Christopher Nolan's film "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012).
In the next few years, she also played one of the Perron daughters in the critically acclaimed horror film "The Conjuring" (2013) and earned the lead role in the horror film "Slender Man" (2018).
Amid those performances, King also earned small credits in hit shows like the drama "Jericho," sitcoms "Bent" and "New Girl" and even had a compelling arc on the black comedy crime drama series "Fargo."
But despite all the appearances in hit shows and experience with award-winning actors, it wasn't until she was cast in a Netflix romantic comedy that her career really began to take off.
'The Kissing Booth' — The Franchise That Changed Her Life
Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Netflix
King didn't even have to audition to play Elle Evans in the Netflix franchise "The Kissing Booth" - one of her most iconic roles to date. She was sent the script with an offer and immediately accepted it. Little did she know how popular the first film and its two sequels would become.
"The films changed my life so much. I had no idea how big these movies would be," she told People in 2021. "When we first made them we kinda just hoped people would know how special they were if they saw them. And it turns out people did know how special they were!
The coming-of-age romantic comedies may not have won King any Oscars. But she says she'd never regret making those films.
"I understand that critics weren't all over this movie, but that's the thing - it's not meant for critics to be like, 'Wow, what a movie!' It's meant for people to watch and have a great time," she told Variety in 2020. "Not everything you do has to have critical acclaim. It doesn't mean it's not successful."
In between filming the first "Kissing Booth" film and its follow-ups, King grabbed a much different role playing Gypsy Blanchard in the Hulu true crime series "The Act."
The limited series follows the real-life story of Gypsy conspiring to murder her abusive mother after she discovered her mother was lying to her about being chronically ill and disabled. It's believed her mother suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a mental health disorder where caregivers project diagnoses on a dependent for sympathy or money.
King says it was a completely new experience for her to play someone who existed in real life, especially since Gypsy was in prison when they filmed.
Hulu
"This story is so complex, so just getting it right was really important to me," she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019. "Doing the story justice, making sure if you are not a sympathizer with Gypsy that by the time you finish the show, you feel how much of a victim she actually was."
King completely transformed for the role by wearing fake teeth, nailing Gypsy's babyish voice, using a wheelchair and even shaving her head.
"I think what was super important to me, not just researching the story, was getting Gypsy's voice correct and her movements correct: so when she would just look around or talk to her mom, anything I could do to make it as authentic as possible," she told The Hollywood Reporter.
Surprisingly, this wasn't the first time King shaved her head for a role. In fact, she's shaved her head THREE times for films, including "The Dark Knight Rises" and "Wish I Was Here" (2014).
King said she received a ton of insults about her looks after she went bald for "The Act." But she told Allure in 2022 she learned to let those comments roll off her back.
"The negative comments people say don't really register anymore, which I'm so thankful for because I feel beautiful, and I feel proud of myself," she said. "I am proud that I got to tell someone's life story to the best of my ability. This was such a great opportunity for me as an actor that it didn't even cross my mind that people would judge me for the cosmetic aspects of the role."
In fact, she says she thinks every woman should shave her head at least once in her life.
"I've never felt more free or more in tune with my beauty," she said to Allure. "I couldn't hide behind my hair. People like to insert themselves in other people's business when it doesn't actually matter. Me having a shaved head for a project really upsets you that much? I'm doing fine."
King certainly proved what the public thought about her didn't affect her performance. She was nominated for an Emmy, a Screen Actors Guild award and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Gypsy.
Who is Joey King's Husband?
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While King earned critical acclaim for her work in "The Act", she also found a husband while on set!
The actress met Steven Piet, who directed two episodes of the mini-series. The pair started dating after King told him she had feelings for him during the show's wrap party.
The "Kissing Booth" alum told Allure that she loved working with her significant other on set.
"We work really well together. We also just really love spending time together. So getting to do something where we're both doing what we love and we get to hang out with each other, [that's] the best," she said. "I think he's so talented. He thinks the same about me. We really love just being able to put our minds together."
The pair dated for more than three years before Piet got down on one knee in February 2022 with a custom-made ring.
King shared the news on Instagram with the caption: "I never knew happiness could be so powerful that it can take the air from your lungs, overwhelming every part of you that you can't help but feel your eyes well from the undeniable joy. I never knew that a person's presence and heart could feel like a real home. I never knew love could be so unquestionably beautiful. I never knew until you."
The happy couple exchanged vows in Spain in September 2023 after dating for more than four years.
The actress told Elite Daily that the couple got so sweaty from dancing during the reception that she and her new husband decided to jump in the pool, along with their loved ones.
"It was the most romantic moment to me," she said. "It was so spontaneous, and it felt like such a movie, honestly. I loved the camaraderie of it all."
Joey King Has Her Own Production Company
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Now, with award nominations and critically acclaimed projects on her resume, King says she's actively choosing projects that push her as a performer and filmmaker.
"I like to keep myself on my toes," she told Allure. "I don't want to keep doing what people are expecting of me. If you want it out of me, it makes me wonder if I should go a different route."
That included starting her own production company, All The King's Horses. In 2021, she struck a deal with Netflix to develop multiple films with ATKH. At just 21 years old, the "Slender Man" star was one of the youngest creatives to strike a deal with a streaming network.
"I am honored to have a first look deal with a company that changed my life and lifts me up in my journey in growing as a producer," she told Deadline. "I can't wait for us to make some movie magic happen."
King says that when she started producing, she realized how difficult it can be to be taken seriously as a young woman in Hollywood.
"When I'm on new projects or when I'm pitching and in all these different meetings, I've come across so many people who still treat me like a child, and it is so upsetting," she told Backstage. "The thing is, I just try to remind myself that it says more about them than it does about me."
King has also been pushing herself when it comes to the roles she accepts. In 2022, she starred in the action adventure fairytale film "The Princess." She told Variety that stunt training for the film was one of the hardest things she's ever done.
"I pushed myself physically to limits I never knew were possible," she said. "I would be fighting sometimes for eight to 10 hours a day. I fell in love with action."
She also starred as the sinister and manipulative assassin Prince in the action comedy "Bullet Train" (2022) alongside a star-studded cast including Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock and Bad Bunny. She told Variety she had to work two to three hours a day to nail the British accent required for the role.
"I loved the way [Prince's] attire and attitude fit into that world so well because everyone [on the train] has such distinct personalities and traits," the actress said. "She is fierce. She is crazy, and I felt like a kid in a candy store when I stepped into that set as Joey."
Though her credits are already a mile long, King is not done yet. She's still determined to make waves and cement her legacy in the industry. She told Backstage that her biggest challenge will be changing perceptions of her as a young, short woman in Hollywood.
"That's a really tough thing to do to change the industry's mind about you," she said. "I've worked my butt off and I've had so much fun doing it, but I have been able to make that transition."
