Joey Lynn King (born July 30, 1999) is an American actress. She starred as Ramona Quimby in the comedy film Ramona and Beezus (2010) and gained wider recognition for her lead role as a late-blooming teenager in the Kissing Booth film series (2018–2021). King received critical acclaim for playing Gypsy-Rose Blanchard in the crime drama series The Act (2019), for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
King has also appeared in the films Battle: Los Angeles (2011), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), The Conjuring (2013), White House Down (2013), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), Independence Day: Resurgence (2016), and Wish Upon (2017), as well as in the FX black comedy series Fargo (2014–2015). She has since taken on lead roles in the action films Bullet Train (2022) and The Princess (2022), romantic comedy A Family Affair (2024), and voice roles in Horton Hears a Who! (2008) and Despicable Me 4 (2024).
Early life King was born in Los Angeles on July 30, 1999. She has two older sisters, one of whom is actress Hunter King. Her mother is of Jewish descent. King has said, "I'm Jewish, but I'm not really, really religious."
As a child, she sang a cappella for a talent show at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center and performed with the Stage Door Children's Theatre in Agoura. King attended Phoenix Ranch School in Simi Valley. King began acting professionally at the age of four in a commercial for Life Cereal. She has also been in commercials for AT&T, Kay Jewelers, and Eggo.
Career 2006–2016: Beginnings and child acting
King made her debut in the 2007 film Reign Over Me. In 2008, she voiced the yellow fur ball Katie in the animated feature Horton Hears a Who! and also appeared in Quarantine. In 2010, she guest-starred in the series Ghost Whisperer. She was also featured in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as Emily Mason in two episodes. Other television appearances include Jericho, Entourage, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Medium and Life in Pieces.
King's first lead role was Ramona Quimby in the 2010 film Ramona and Beezus, an adaptation of the Beverly Cleary book series. She also released a single for the movie called "Ramona Blue." Her role in the film won her a Young Artist Award. King was featured in Battle: Los Angeles, where she played a girl named Kirsten. Also in 2011, she co-starred in Crazy, Stupid, Love. She also appeared in Taylor Swift's "Mean" music video as a young student at the school cafeteria rejected by her peers.
King had a role in Christopher Nolan's third Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises (2012), as a young Talia al Ghul. She also filmed the short-lived comedy series Bent, had guest appearances in New Girl and was on the final episode of The Haunting Hour: The Series, "Goodwill Towards Men". In 2013, King appeared in Oz the Great and Powerful, Family Weekend, White House Down, and The Conjuring. In 2014, she appeared in Wish I Was Here, as well as in Fargo as Greta Grimly, daughter of police officer Gus Grimly. In 2016, King was cast in the coming-of-age drama film The Possibility of Fireflies. She played the lead character Clare in the 2017 horror-thriller film Wish Upon. She also had a role in the supernatural horror film Slender Man, which was released in 2018.
2017–present: The Kissing Booth and The Act In 2018, she starred as Elle Evans in Netflix's teen romantic comedy The Kissing Booth. She reprised the role in the sequel The Kissing Booth 2, released in 2020, and in The Kissing Booth 3, which was released on August 11, 2021. In 2019, she starred in the true crime anthology television series The Act on Hulu. King was cast as Gypsy Rose Blanchard, a role which required King to shave her head for the third time in her career. Her performance in The Act earned her nominations for Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG and Critics' Choice awards. She also appeared on the fourth season of the CBS comedy Life in Pieces as Morgan.
King is represented by WME and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. In August 2020, she signed a deal with Hulu to produce television content for its service. In July 2021, her All The King's Horses production company struck a deal with Netflix. She appeared as Halina Kurc in the Hulu Original Series We Were the Lucky Ones. In 2024, King starred in Netflix's film A Family Affair. In 2023, she made another appearance in a Taylor Swift music video – this time for her song "I Can See You (Taylor's Version) [From The Vault]" for the re-recording of Swift's 2010 album Speak Now.
Personal life King was in a relationship with her former co-star Jacob Elordi. They met while filming for The Kissing Booth in 2017 and had split by November 2018.
King began a relationship with producer and director Steven Piet in 2019 after they met on the set of The Act. They became engaged in February 2022 and married on September 2, 2023, in Mallorca, Spain.
In 2023, King praised the Israeli judicial reform protests on Instagram. In May, she had the word "hummus" tattooed in Hebrew on the back of her neck during a visit to Tel Aviv. That October, King signed the "No Hostage Left Behind" letter, an open letter asking US President Joe Biden to ensure the release of hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attacks.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes2008 Horton Hears a Who! Katie (voice) Quarantine Briana 2010 Ramona and Beezus Ramona Quimby2011 Battle: Los Angeles Kirsten Crazy, Stupid, Love Molly Weaver 2012 The Dark Knight Rises Young Talia al Ghul 2013 The Conjuring Christine Perron Family Weekend Lucinda Smith-Dungy Oz the Great and Powerful China Girl / Girl in wheelchair White House Down Emily Cale2014 The Boxcar Children Jessie Alden (voice) The Sound and the Fury Miss Quentin Wish I Was Here Grace Bloom2015 Borealis Aurora Stonewall Phoebe Winters 2016 Independence Day: Resurgence Sam Blackwell2017 Going in Style Brooklyn Harding Smartass Freddie Wish Upon Clare Shannon2018 The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island Jessie Alden (voice) The Kissing Booth Elle Evans The Lie Kayla Logan Radium Girls Bessie Cavallo Summer '03 Jamie Winkle Slender Man Wren 2019 Zeroville Zazi 2020 The Kissing Booth 2 Elle Evans Also executive producer 2021 The Kissing Booth 3Elle EvansAlso executive producer2022The In Between Tessa Also producer The Princess The Princess Also executive producer Bullet Train Malen'kiy Prints / The Prince2024 Despicable Me 4 Poppy Prescott (voice) Camp SarahAlso co-producerSummer Camp (Deutscher Trailer) – Joey King, Nolan Gould, Annalise Basso A Family Affair Zara Ford Uglies Tally Youngblood Also executive producer 2026 Practical Magic 2 Kylie Owens
Television Year Title Role Notes2006 Malcolm in the Middle Girl at party Episode: "Mono" The Suite Life of Zack & Cody Emily Mason Episodes: "Day Care", "Books and Birdhouses" 2006–2007 Jericho Sally 3 episodes2007 Avenging Angel Amelia Television film Backyards & Bullets Junie GarrisonTelevision film Entourage Chuck Liddell's daughter Episode: "Gotcha" 2007–2008 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Little Girl / Nora Rowe Episodes: "Living Doll", "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda" 2008 Medium Kelly Mackenzie (age 8) Episode "Drowned World" 2009 Anatomy of Hope Lucy Morgan Television film2010 Elevator Girl PaigeTelevision film Ghost Whisperer Cassidy Episodes: "Old Sins Cast Long Shadows", "The Children's Parade"2011 Bent Charlie Meyers Main role Survivor: South Pacific Herself Episode: "Reunion" 2012 New Girl Brianna Episode: "Bully" 2013–2014 The Haunting Hour: The Series Carla / Missy Jordan Episodes: "Seance", "Goodwill Toward Men"2014 American Dad! (voice) Episode: "Familyland" Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs Elissa Wall Television film 2014–2015 Fargo Greta Grimly Recurring role (season 1); special guest role (season 2)2016 The Flash Frankie Kane / Magenta Episode: "Magenta" Robot Chicken Polly Pocket / Draculaura (voices) Episode: "Yogurt in a Bag" Tween Fest Maddisyn Crawford Main role2019 The Act Gypsy-Rose BlanchardMain role Life in Pieces Morgan Recurring Role2020 Creepshow Blake (voice) Episode: "A Creepshow Animated Special" Home Movie: The Princess Bride Grandson Episode: "Chapter Eight: Ultimate Suffering" Group Chat Herself Episode: "Would You Rather Kiss" The Simpsons Addy (voice) Episode: "The Hateful Eight-Year-Olds"2021 Calls Skylar (voice) Episode: "Mom" Nailed It Herself Episode: "Travel Dos and Donuts" 2022–2025 Hamster & Gretel Fred Grant (voice) Main role 2024 We Were the Lucky Ones Halina Kurc
Video games Year Title Role 2018 Madden NFL 19: Longshot Loretta Cruise
Music videos Year Song Artist 2010 "Ramona Blue" Joey King featuring Kelli King 2011 "Mean" Taylor Swift 2018 "Sue Me" Sabrina Carpenter 2019 "Tongue Tied" Marshmello, Yungblud, and Blackbear 2023 "I Can See You" Taylor Swift
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2009Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actress CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role – Young Actress Horton Hears a Who! 2010Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Supporting Young Actress Anatomy of Hope Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role – Young Actor/Actress Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs 2011Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress Ten and Under Ramona and Beezus Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actress Ten and Under Ghost Whisperer 2013 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress The Dark Knight Rises 2014 Gotham Independent Film Awards Breakthrough Actor Wish I Was Here 2019 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Movie Actress The Kissing Booth Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie The Act Satellite Awards Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film The Act 2020 Golden Globe Awards Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television The Act Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television The Act Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie The Act People's Choice Awards Comedy Movie Star of 2020 The Kissing Booth 2 2022People's Choice Awards Female Movie Star of 2022 Bullet Train Action Movie Star of 2022 Bullet Train 2023Critics' Choice Super AwardsBest Actress in an Action Movie Bullet Train The Princess Best Villain in a Movie Bullet Train 2024 Astra TV Awards Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie We Were The Lucky Ones
At the 2015 Vancouver International Film Festival, the Canadian Images features jury made an honourable mention recognizing King as an Emerging Actress for her performance in Borealis.
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