Joey Lawrence

Lawrence was born and raised in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,^[1][2] a suburb of Philadelphia. He is the eldest son of Donna Lynn (née Shaw), a personnel manager and former elementary school teacher,^[3] and Joseph Lawrence Mignogna Jr., an insurance broker.^[4] He is of Italian, English, and Scottish descent.^[5] His family's stage surname was changed to "Lawrence" during his childhood when he started acting. He has two younger brothers, actors Matthew and Andrew.^[6]

Lawrence graduated from Abington Friends School in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, in 1994 and later attended the University of Southern California.^[7]

In 1981, when he was five years old, Lawrence landed his first acting role in a Cracker Jack commercial.^[8] Three weeks before turning age six, he appeared on the March 31, 1982, episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, where he performed the song "Give My Regards to Broadway" and tap danced.^[9][10]

After appearing in guest spots on Diff'rent Strokes and Silver Spoons, Lawrence won the role of Joey Donovan on the hit NBC sitcom Gimme a Break! in 1983. He continued in that role until the series ended in 1987. 1985 marked Lawrence's theatrical debut with the release of Summer Rental. Lawrence provided the voice of Oliver, the protagonist in the 1988 Disney film Oliver & Company at the age of 12. From 1991, at the age of 15, to 1995, Lawrence co-starred in the hit TV series Blossom on NBC, playing Joey Russo.

Lawrence has also starred in the series Brotherly Love (which featured his real-life brothers, Matthew and Andrew Lawrence) and Run of the House and has guest starred on such programs as American Dreams and CSI: NY.^[11] One of Lawrence's film credits is Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000).

 

In 2006, Lawrence appeared on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Paired with professional dancer Edyta Śliwińska, he placed third in the competition.

In May 2007, he starred in the Broadway hit Chicago as Billy Flynn.^[12] He next hosted a dance competition show on The Learning Channel, Master of Dance, which premiered June 9, 2008.^[13]

In 2009, Lawrence starred in the television film My Fake Fiancé with Melissa Joan Hart, which premiered on ABC Family with 3.6  million viewers, becoming the most-watched television film the rating season, sweeping top rank in its time period in key demos. In August 2010, Lawrence returned to television in the ABC Family sitcom Melissa & Joey, again opposite Hart.^[14] Hart plays a woman who hires Lawrence as a nanny to help care for her incarcerated sister's kids. Lawrence's character is a former figure in the financial industry whose company came under investigation for wrongdoing and caused his professional life to be put on hold. Lawrence's brothers have guest-starred on the show. Matthew Lawrence played Tony Longo in season 1 episode 25 and Andrew Lawrence appeared in season 1 episode 26 as Ryder Scanlon's teacher, Evan McKay. The series was renewed for its fourth season and ended in 2015.^[15]

 

In 2012, he was contracted to be a Chippendales dancer for a special engagement in June at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.^[16] On March 19, 2013, Lawrence began appearing in the ABC reality show Splash, co-hosting alongside Charissa Thompson.

In 2022, Lawrence competed in season eight of The Masked Singer as "Walrus". He was eliminated on "90s Night" alongside Le'Veon Bell as "Milkshake".^[17]

In August 2023, Lawrence resurfaced his Blossom catchphrase, "Whoa!", by starring in a VinFast's VF8 ad campaign,^[18] covered by Automotive News^[19] and Ad Age.^[20] In December of the same year, Lawrence reprised his role in a second installment of VinFast's "Changing Lanes" campaign.^[21]

Lawrence has said that music was always his passion, and at the height of his success began a recording career. Lawrence was 16 when his debut album Joey Lawrence was released in February 1993. Produced by Steve Barri, Tony Peluso, Terry Lupton, and Ian Prince. Lawrence co-wrote some material, including the international hit single "Nothin' My Love Can't Fix" (#6 Billboard Hot 100 Airplay, No. 10 Billboard Top 40 Mainstream, No. 19 Billboard Hot 100, No. 13 United Kingdom, No. 68 Australia).^[22] The song was used as the end-title theme from the film Cop and a Half; its music video received heavy airplay on MTV and MuchMusic, and Lawrence was invited to perform live on MTV's Spring Break, The Arsenio Hall Show, and the UK's Top of the Pops in 1993.^{[citation needed]}

In June 2011, he released a single, "Rolled", which was available as a free download for one week on ABC Family's website.^[23] In July, Joey released a second single, "Give It To Ya (Acoustic)" via Pledge Music.^[24] In 2017 Joey started a band with Matt and Andy called Still 3. They released their debut single "Lose Myself".^[25]

In 2023, Joey launched a podcast called "Brotherly Love Podcast" with his brothers Andrew and Matthew.^[26] It was launched through PodCo, a podcast studio launched by actress Christy Carlson Romano and focused on rewatches of completed television series by their former actors.

Lawrence married Michelle Vella in 2002; the couple divorced in 2005.^[27]

He met his second wife, Chandie Yawn-Nelson, while on vacation in Disney World when the two were teenagers. They wed there in July 2005,^[28] and have two children, Charleston and Liberty.^[29][30][31] Reports surfaced in March 2018 that Lawrence and Yawn-Nelson had filed for bankruptcy in July 2017.^[32][33] On April 6, 2018, the Chapter 7 bankruptcy case was reportedly settled.^[34][35] Lawrence filed for divorce in July 2020.^[27]

In 2022 Lawrence married actress Samantha Cope whom he met on the set of a Lifetime movie directed by his brother Andrew and co-starring his daughter Charleston.^[36][37] The couple has one daughter, born in 2023.^[38] On August 13, 2024, Cope filed for divorce.^[39] The following December, it was announced the couple had reconciled.^[40]

• VinFast: "Whoa" - VinFast VF8 "Changing Lanes" Campaign (US Debut, August 2023)
• VinFast: "Whoa 2"- VinFast VF8 "Changing Lanes" Campaign (US, December 2023)

• Chicago (2007) as Billy Flynn (replacement)

• Official website  
• Joey Lawrence at the Internet Broadway Database  
• Joey Lawrence at IMDb
• Joey Lawrence discography at Discogs