From child actor to fashion expert, Joey King has more than proven over the years that she can command a screen — and a red carpet.
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00:00From child actor to fashion expert, Joey King has more than proven over the years that she
00:05can command a screen and a red carpet.
00:09Even though Joey King acted in projects prior to Ramona and Beezus, it was the 2010 comedy
00:14that helped the child star gain recognition in the industry.
00:18At the time, King was only 11 years old, and her style reflected kids' fashion of the late
00:232000s and early 2010s, featuring colorful pieces and funky patterns.
00:29In an interview with Just Jared Jr., the young star revealed that one of the major fashion
00:33icons she looked up to at the time was Lady Gaga.
00:36She explained,
00:37"'I am a humongous fan of Lady Gaga.
00:40I love her outfits.
00:41I like her because of her outfits.
00:43And she's really cool.
00:44I love her songs, and I love her outfits, of course.
00:46And sometimes I'm like, I want that.
00:48I want those sunglasses.
00:49I want that wig.'"
00:51While King's fashion choices weren't as extreme as Gaga's, the love for dramatic clothing
00:55pieces was certainly already noticeable.
00:58After the success of Ramona and Beezus, King went on to appear in some of Hollywood's biggest
01:03blockbusters, like Crazy Stupid Love and The Dark Knight Rises.
01:06"'You told me a child did it.'
01:09Ha ha.
01:10But no ordinary child.
01:12A child born in hell."
01:15Now a staple on the red carpets, the young star was making bold and eye-catching choices,
01:20often gravitating toward maximalist fashion.
01:23In fact, textured fabric seems to be huge in King's wardrobe.
01:27The actor loved everything from crochet to lace.
01:30One of the most memorable looks of the period is definitely the lace A-line dress the actor
01:35wore to an event to celebrate the 2013 Golden Globes awards season.
01:39While the dress could have easily looked too sophisticated and serious for her age, King
01:43made it more youthful by accessorizing it with a colorful necklace.
01:47At the same time, she wasn't afraid to keep things simple.
01:50That same year, at the premiere of This Is the End, King decided to go for a no-frills
01:54black-and-white fit.
01:56But that didn't mean it was boring.
01:58The actor wore a skirt with a long lace train at the back.
02:01And while most would have paired it with a simple top, King opted for a white sheer tank
02:05with a delicate embroidery on it.
02:07Somehow, it all worked together, proving that even as a teen, King had a keen eye for style.
02:13As far as her fashion journey goes, the mid-2010s marked major changes for the star.
02:18In 2015, King attended her first-ever New York Fashion Week, and she loved it.
02:24She told Teen Vogue,
02:25"'It was incredible.
02:26I am so taken aback and in awe of Fashion Week.
02:29I love the fashion world, and I'm starting to really understand and enter it.
02:33So hopefully it'll be a way for me to expand my fashion knowledge."
02:36Even though acting was her main passion, King admitted that fashion was becoming more and
02:41more fun for her.
02:42She said,
02:43"'I'm really excited because a lot of the fashion choices I've been making lately are
02:46really reflecting who I am now.'"
02:49King also added that she doesn't like putting her style in a specific box, and based on
02:53the looks she has worn over the years, that is clear as day.
02:56She explained,
02:57"'You can be whoever you want when you dress up, whether it's what you wear on a carpet
03:01or in your everyday life.
03:03You can change your style and just be a different person.
03:06People get too caught up in like, oh, I have this specific style, I'm a tomboy, or I have
03:10a 60s-type style.
03:12Hey, wear whatever you want.
03:14There's no limitations on fashion, and that's what I love about it.'"
03:17And as a teen, King was certainly allowing herself to explore fashion without boundaries,
03:22always making sure she felt like herself in the clothes she chose.
03:26During this specific period, the actor developed a love for leather pieces, whether they were
03:30skinny leather pants or a classic edgy leather moto jacket.
03:34In 2017, King turned 18, and with that, she stepped away from being a childhood star.
03:40This was also noticeable in her roles, which became more challenging and serious.
03:45In 2019, she portrayed Gypsy Rose Blanchard in the limited series The Act, and for the
03:50role, she had to shave her head, something she had already done twice in her career.
03:55"'There we go.
03:59Nice gettin' it all off.'"
04:01She admitted to Teen Vogue at the time,
04:03"'I can say that I haven't felt more feminine in such a long time.'"
04:06As far as her biggest fashion moments go, King was way ahead of 2023's daring red trend.
04:13In 2018, the actor rocked a wine red dress to the Emmys, and a year later, she showed
04:18up to the same awards show in a bright red ball gown, both of which were by Zac Posen.
04:23With her success consistently growing, King was now more often seen at industry events
04:28that required glamorous attire, and she never disappointed.
04:31One thing that's clear by taking a quick look at her growth over the years is that King
04:35has never been one to follow in anyone's footsteps.
04:38That's also true when it comes to beauty standards.
04:41She told Us Weekly in 2019,
04:43"'Typical beauty standards I've never been a fan of.
04:46I like to change it up a little bit.'"
04:48She went on to reveal that her confidence stems from self-love, something she believes
04:52everyone needs to work on.
04:54She added,
04:55"'I think that self-love is something that's a little bit rare, and that needs to not be
04:58so different.
04:59It needs to be more of a norm.'"
05:02Apart from the lockdown era, during which industry events were halted, 2020 to 2022
05:07were major fashion years for King.
05:09As the actor aged, her style became more confident and unapologetic.
05:13Even though she will always be best known for her acting, the way she kicked off the
05:172020s should be studied in fashion history classes.
05:21Two of our absolute favorite looks from this era are the stunning floral mini-dress she
05:25rocked to the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, and the edgy blue set she opted for at the
05:31Moonfall premiere in early 2022.
05:34The VMA dress was by Versace, and King candidly opened up about everything that went into
05:39looking perfect for the event.
05:41She joked at the event,
05:42"'What all went into it is I'm wearing a lot of Spanx.
05:45I've got some fake makeup on my legs so that they look shiny and yeah, I have extensions
05:49in my hair.
05:50So you know, I don't really look like this.'"
05:52For the movie premiere in 2022, King showed up in a milk-white set consisting of blue
05:57pants, a bra, and a matching oversized jacket, all of which gave the actor a very fashion-forward
06:02and futuristic vibe.
06:05After the noticeable shift in the edginess of her style in the early 2020s, there was
06:09no stopping King's evolution.
06:12In 2022 and 2023, she served us a variety of very different looks that all had one thing
06:17in common.
06:18They were bold and unexpected.
06:20King told The Hollywood Reporter during the Los Angeles premiere of Bullet Train in 2022,
06:25"'I've been having so much fun with my looks.
06:28And I've been choosing them all for me.
06:29And they're making me happy.
06:31So if they're making other people happy, that's awesome.
06:33I'm enjoying every moment of playing around with my style.
06:36I feel like I'm entering a new form of myself, where I am not afraid anymore to kind of just
06:41do what I want on the carpet.'"
06:43For the premiere, King decided to go with a beautiful, country dress with a deep neckline
06:49and fun cutouts.
06:50When asked to describe her style, King said it is always, quote, "'youthful, daring, and
06:55a mix of classic and unique.'
06:57And we couldn't agree more."
06:59Today, King is known for her sense of style, which is as diverse as her acting projects.
07:04In an interview with People, King revealed that shooting the series We Were the Lucky
07:07Ones resulted in her newfound love for vintage clothes.
07:11She said,
07:12"'Every time I put something on, I was like, I feel like this is how I'm supposed to dress
07:16every day.
07:17It made me feel really beautiful in my own skin.'"
07:19"'Pulling it all together was a wild operation.'"
07:23Turns out, King has always used fashion as a way to make herself feel really good.
07:28She told Forbes,
07:29"'Fashion and beauty help me embody a certain confidence.
07:33I am a confident person, but I do feel that it can be dulled by a lot of things.
07:37When I am in a look that makes me feel beautiful or unique or transforms me in any way, it
07:42awakens that dormant confidence that is laying underneath all this other crap that I pile
07:46on myself."
07:47And while style is so individual and evolving, we have to agree with the star.
07:52Fashion is, and always should be, about confidence and feeling like the best version of yourself.