Joseph Lawrence Mignogna III (born April 20, 1976) is an American actor, musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, podcaster, and game show host. He was a child actor in the early 1980s and portrayed Joey Russo in Blossom and Joe Longo in Melissa & Joey. Lawrence also starred in Gimme a Break! (1983–87), and the series Brotherly Love with his real-life brothers Matthew and Andrew. His film appearances include Summer Rental (1985) and Oliver & Company (1988).
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 (néeShaw), a personnel manager and former elementary school teacher,[3] and Joseph Lawrence Mignogna Jr., an insurance broker.[4] He is of Italian and British descent.[5] His family's surname was changed to "Lawrence" during his childhood when he started acting. He has two younger brothers, actors Matthew and Andrew.[6]
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 animated 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.
In May 2007, he starred in the Broadway hit Chicago as Billy Flynn.[12] He next hosted a dance competition show on TLC, 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 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]
Music career
Lawrence has stated that music was always his passion, and at the height of his success began a recording career. Lawrence was 16 when his debut (and only) 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 Canadian MuchMusic, and Lawrence was invited to perform live on MTV Spring Break, The Arsenio Hall Show, and BBC'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]
Podcasting
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 former Disney Channel actress Christy Carlson Romano and focused on rewatches of completed television series by their former actors.
Personal life
Lawrence married Michelle Vella in 2002; the couple divorced in 2005.[27]
He met his second wife, Chandie Yawn-Nelson, while on vacation in Walt Disney World when the two were teenagers. They wed there in July 2005,[28] and have two daughters.[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] Their divorce was finalized in February 2022.[36]
In 2022, Lawrence married actress Samantha Cope whom he met on the set the Lifetime television film A Deadly Deed, directed by his brother Andrew and co-starring his daughter Charleston.[37][38] The couple has one daughter, born in 2023.[39] On August 13, 2024, Cope filed for divorce.[40] In December 2024, it was announced that the couple had reconciled and had their divorce filing dismissed.[41]
↑ Radovsky, Vicki Jo (April 23, 1993). "Stonecoldfox". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
↑ Snierson, Dan (October 16, 2002). "' Whoa' Be Gone". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
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