Joey Lawrence

Joey Lawrence
Born	Joseph Lawrence Mignogna Jr. April 20, 1976 (1976-04-20) (age 33) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Actor / Singer
Years active	1982 - Present
Spouse(s)	Michelle Vella (2002 - 2004) Chandie Yawn-Nelson (2005 - Present) 1 child
Children	Charleston Lawrence (b. May 2006)

Joey Lawrence (born April 20, 1976) is an American actor, singer, and television host.

Biography

Personal life

Lawrence was born Joseph Mignogna, Jr. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Donna Mignogna, a personnel manager, and Joseph Mignogna, Sr., an insurance broker.^[1] His family's surname was changed to "Lawrence" during his childhood. He has two brothers, actors Matthew Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence. He began acting at a very young age. He also graduated from Abington Friends School in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. He also attended Southampton Summer Day Camp with his brother Matt when he was a child.

Lawrence dated actress Kellie Martin. In 1994, he also dated actress Katherine Heigl.^[2]

He married Michelle Vella in 2002; the couple divorced in 2004.

He met his second wife, Chandie Yawn-Nelson, while on vacation in Disney World when the two were teenagers; they married there 13 years later. Their daughter, Charleston "Charli" Lawrence, was born on May 10, 2006, weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces. On November 13, 2009, the couple announced that they are expecting their second child, a girl to be named Liberty Grace Lawrence, due on April 3, 2010.^[3]

Career

Lawrence became successful at the age of 6 through the hit TV show Gimme A Break becoming one of the youngest actors in Hollywood. Lawrence became the youngest celebrity to appear on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.^[4]

Lawrence followed that up with another hit TV series Blossom from 1991-1995, in which he played the character Joey Russo, a dim-witted young man who frequently uttered the phrase "Whoa!", which due to the success of the show became a national catchphrase in the United States.

Lawrence has said that music was always his passion and in the wake of his success began a recording career. Lawrence was 16 years old when his debut album, Joey Lawrence, was released in February of 1993. The album was produced by Terry Lupton, Ian Prince and Teddy Riley. Lawrence also cowrote songs on the album, including the international hit single "Nothin' My Love Can't Fix" (Billboard Hot 100 Airplay #6, Billboard Top 40 Mainstream #10, Billboard Hot 100 #19, UK #13, AU #68).^[5]. The music video for "Nothin' My Love Can't Fix" received heavy airplay on MTV and MuchMusic, and Lawrence was invited to perform live on MTV's Spring Break as well as on the Arsenio Hall Show in 1993.

Lawrence was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1994.^[6] Lawrence was also ranked #21 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the '90s. He was also ranked #25 in TV Guide's list of "TV's 25 Greatest Teen Idols" (23 January 2005 issue).

In other acting roles, Lawrence has starred in shows such as American Dreams, Brotherly Love, Run of the House. One of Lawrence's international movie credits was Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000) in which he costarred with Jennifer Morrison, Matthew Davis, and Hart Bochner. He also starred as Clay Dobson on CSI: NY.

In early 2006, a bald-headed Lawrence, wearing earrings, made a cameo appearance in a commercial^[7] for Ice Breakers gum with sisters Hilary and Haylie Duff, ending the ad with his trademark, "WHOA!" Later in 2006, Lawrence and his dance partner Edyta Śliwińska came in third place on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. On November 8, 2006, they were eliminated from the show by viewer votes due to a three-way tie the night before.

Lawrence told TV Guide in July 2008 that he is working on a new album composed mostly of ballads.^[8]

He next hosted a dance competition show on The Learning Channel, Master of Dance, which premiered June 9, 2008. ^[9]

In 2009, Lawrence starred in My Fake Fiance with Melissa Joan Hart which premiered on ABC Family to 3.6 million viewers becoming the most watched television movie of the ratings season, sweeping top rank in its time-period in key demos.

Recently, he starred in the Broadway hit Chicago as Billy Flynn.

He is currently a celebrity judge on an Internet reality show called Total Pop Star. He judges alongside Debbie Gibson and Andrew Van Slee.^[10]

Filmography

Films

Television

Discography

Studio albums

• 1993 Joey Lawrence Released February 2, 1993
• 1997 Soulmates Released September 16, 1997

Singles

• "Nothin' My Love Can't Fix" Released February 9, 1993
• "Stay Forever" Released June 1, 1993
• "I Can't Help Myself" Release October 12, 1993
• "Ven Ven Conmigo" Release August 26, 1997
• "Never Gonna Change My Mind" Release March 10, 1998
• "I Didn't Wanna Fall In Love Tonight"
• "I Want It That Way 2008" Release November 28, 2008

References

External links

• Joey Lawrence at the Internet Movie Database
• Joey Lawrence at the Internet Broadway Database