Joey King And Her Producer Bae Have Been Playing Dress-Up Amid Quarantine

From Women's Health

At just 20 years old (yes, 2-0), actress Joey King is on fire—so much so she should consider making Alicia Keys' iconic number her theme song. And, good news for all her dedicated fans and roughly 12 million Instagram followers, it looks like Joey won't be slowing down any time soon.

In her latest film, the actress returns as Elle in the highly anticipated teen rom-com The Kissing Booth 2. (Thank you Netflix for brightening up the summer!) Yep, the kissing booth is open for business again. Once again Joey's character has a lot on her plate, a long-distance relationship with her dreamy boyfriend, college apps, and potentially life-changing friendships.

It seems like just yesterday that Joey blew audiences away with her performance as Gypsy Rose Blanchard in Hulu's The Act—a job so well done that it nabbed the star her first Golden Globe and Emmy nominations (but more on that in a sec).

But how exactly did Joey get here? Here's everything you need to know about her and how she got into acting:

Joey's been acting for a loooong time.

According to IMDb, Joey was born on July 30, 1999, in Los Angeles. And just a few short years later, at age 4, Joey made her acting debut—first with commercials, then starring in a plethora of television shows. She booked her first movie, Grace, when she was only 6 years old and has since starred in TV shows like Bent and Fargo, per IMDb.

But it wasn't until 2010's Ramona and Beezus—in which she starred alongside Selena Gomez—that Joey got her big break. That set off a wave of other lead movie roles in blockbuster films, including Crazy, Stupid, Love, The Dark Knight Rises, The Boxcar Children, and Netflix's The Kissing Booth.

Joey caught everyone's attention on The Act.

She absolutely nailed her portrayal of Gypsy Rose, who famously asked her boyfriend, Nick Godejohn, to murder her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard in the true crime thriller. This came after years of abuse by her mother, who suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy. (FYI: The real Gypsy Blanchard is currently serving 10 years in prison for second-degree murder.)

If you've seen the show, you were probably left shook by Joey's performance. And if you haven't yet, now's the time, because you can bet this is just the beginning of the talented actress's award-winning career.

Joey's family is also into acting.

She comes from a long line of actors, including her grandmother, who was a live-theater actress, according to IMDb. Plus, her two older sisters, Hunter King and Kelli King, are also actresses. Guess Joey's talent must run in her genes...

Still haven't seen Joey in The Act? No worries, here's everything you need to know:

Speaking of her fam, she's super close with her sisters.

Stars, they're just like us...right? Well, in this case, that's definitely right. Like
any other sibling trio, the King sisters—Joey, 20, Hunter, 26, and Kelli, 27—are no strangers to smothering each other in love on social media, making up handshakes, and sharing the sweetest things in life (read: holiday dessert platters).

But that's not all. The King fam love goes beyond the feed all the way to the TV screen. More specifically, on NBC's Life in Pieces, where Joey recently acted alongside her sister Hunter in a few episodes.

Joey received her first Emmy nomination at 19.

In July 2919, she snagged an Emmy nom in the Outstanding Lead Actress category for her performance as Gypsy Rose Blanchard in The Act.

Oh, and her reaction to the news? Straight-up priceless. She immediately started bawling while FaceTiming with her mom, according to a video she posted on Twitter.

"I cannot believe this is happening. I’ve just been nominated for an Emmy for my work in The Act," she captioned the vid. "There’s so many people to thank for this moment and getting to talk to my mom and Patricia immediately after it was announced was so special. I’m in shock." (Tbh, can she be nominated for "Best Reaction To An Emmy Nomination"? Asking for a friend...)

Joey faced stiff competition with Patricia Arquette, Amy Adams, Aunjanue Ellis, Michelle Williams, and Niecy Nash also nominated in her category. Ultimately, Michelle Williams won the award so Joey wasn't able to elaborate on her Twitter speech on stage.

Joey reunited with ex Jacob Elordi on screen.

She was famously linked to her Kissing Booth co-star Jacob Elordi during and after shooting the first Netflix rom-com and the sequel brought the couple back together again, but not as IRL lovers. The on-screen romance is all real, but Joey and Jacob have each moved on. (Jacob was linked to Zendaya and more on Joey's new romance in a sec.)

"In this world, everyone wants to know your business and what you're doing," Joey told ET while promoting The Kissing Booth 2. "And I think it's very interesting when you go through things and people kind of feel like they're owed an explanation, but I understand."

After their 2018 breakup, if you took a look at either of their Instagram accounts, they've been wiped clear of any evidence that they were a couple. The only pic that remains? A BTS snap from their film.

Lately she's been dating Steven Piet, a producer on The Act.

Who needs Instagram official when you can become red-carpet official? Not this duo, who confirmed nearly a month's worth of dating rumors when they walked the 2019 Emmy Awards red carpet together. Since then, relationship updates have been scarce.

Their red carpet debut was just a few weeks after Joey and her producer bae (who, btw, was the co-executive producer of The Act, per IMDB) were spotted canoodling at a Labor Day Weekend screening of Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, E! reported.

While the verdict's still out on most of their relationship deets, it's quite possible sparks first flew on the set of The Act since, ya know, they were working on the same show.

Joey and Steven have been showing off their quarantine creativity, devising themes for different days while social distancing. For example, they've had "Santa Saturday," "Tom Hanks Thursday," and "Wacky Wednesday." Who knows what's to come for this duo.

She likes hiking and keeps it real about her diet.

Joey clearly works out—I mean, the girl has a six-pack peeking out in this post-hike pic. But that doesn't mean she's a gym rat. In fact, she told The New Potato in a 2017 interview about her philosophy on food: "As far as diet and exercise go, I try to eat as healthfully as possible, but I don’t make myself crazy."

"If I’m craving a piece of bread or a bowl of pasta, sometimes I just need to listen to my body and indulge," she continued. "You definitely have to find a balance, though, because eating the right things has incredible health and healing benefits. It’s not about how you look—it’s about taking care of your body so you can be the best you." Preach!

She's a spokesperson for Urban Decay makeup.

Early in July 2019, Joey announced she was one of the new faces for Urban Decay's "Pretty Different" campaign, according to People.

"I am pretty different in a lot of different ways,” Joey told Us. “I don’t know what exactly makes me pretty different, but I think that I was born a little cuckoo in a good way. What being ‘pretty different’ to me means being able to just not let people who want to tear you down. And I think that self love is something that’s a little bit rare and that needs to not be so different. It needs to be more of a norm."

Joey won a Kids Choice Award in 2019.

Not just any Kids Choice Award, but the "Favorite Movie Actress" Award for her role as Shelly "Elle" Evans in Netflix's The Kissing Booth, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Joey scored her first Golden Globes nomination.

Alongside Michelle Williams, Helen Mirren, Merritt Wever, and Kaitlyn Dever, the actress was up for Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television. The new nom brought back the waterworks again. Joey shared her reaction in an Instagram post: "I started to cry tears of absolute gratitude. Thank you thank you thank you to the HFPA for recognizing me alongside such brilliant actresses. Working on The Act impacted me so deeply as a person and as an actress in a way that I feel changed forever. I’ve gained more perspective, empathy, knowledge, and vulnerability to name a few things."

She's shaved her head three times...in eight years.

Joey clearly knows her way around a razor. The actress first went bald at age 11 for The Dark Knight Rises, then when she was 14 for Wish I Was Here, and most recently for The Act. But don't call her "brave" because, to Joey, getting a buzz cut or more is NBD, per a 2018 interview with Allure. "No part of me was nervous or was second-guessing it," she said. "So many people would ask me, 'Are you really scared?' or 'Are you nervous?' or say, 'You're so brave.' And I'd go, 'I'm not brave. I'm just cutting my hair off.'"

Last but certainly not least: Joey was in Taylor Swift's music video for "Mean."

Peep the little girl with a big blue bow on her dress about halfway through the video. That's Joey!

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