Rise to Fame
A shaved head and fake teeth got her out of the rom-com box. She'd been working since age 4, shaved her head at 11 for The Dark Knight Rises, and spent years in supporting roles before The Kissing Booth made her one of Netflix's most-watched actresses in 2018. The credibility came from The Act, where she played Gypsy Rose Blanchard, shedding the Elle Evans persona so completely that she earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations in the same year she was filming a sequel on a different continent.
In the Spotlight
The gap between public perception and actual output is the story. The Kissing Booth made her famous and gave Jacob Elordi a platform he later called 'ridiculous,' while she defended the franchise and moved on. By 2024, she was producing her own projects like Uglies, pulling 94% on Rotten Tomatoes for We Were the Lucky Ones, and signing onto Practical Magic 2 with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. The rom-com label keeps shrinking.
Side Notes
Her father Terry King was a professional arm-wrestling champion who consulted for Sylvester Stallone. Strange origin story for a child actor from LA. Both older sisters, Kelli and Hunter, are working actresses, and her grandmother was a stage actress. She's shaved her head for three different roles, starting at 11 for The Dark Knight Rises. She met her husband, director Steven Piet, while filming The Act. Gypsy Rose Blanchard, whose representatives called The Act 'grossly inaccurate,' reached out privately after her prison release in 2023. Whatever she thought of the portrayal, she didn't hold it against King.