Joey Lauren Adams

Joey Lauren Adams Headshot

Actress • Director

Birth Date: January 9, 1968

Age: 56 years old

Birth Place: Little Rock, Arkansas

A migrant to Hollywood from Little Rock, Arkansas, Joey Lauren Adams has often played sexy teenagers since her TV debut as Mona, the girl-next-door with a '90s twist in the 1991 Fox series "Top of the Heap." The sexy blonde actress with the little girl voice then reprised the role, lusting after Matt LeBlanc, in the short-lived 1992 Fox spin-off "Vinnie and Bobby." Other TV roles have included a small role in the 1992 "CBS Schoolbreak Special" about literacy, "Words Up!," and guest appearances on "Married With Children" in 1991 and 1992, once as a cornpone cousin of the Bundys, in which Adams employed an Arkansas drawl. But she is perhaps better recalled for "making a man" of David Faustino's Bud Bundy. During the 1996-97 season, Adams had a recurring role on the ABC series "Second Noah" as Darby, the singer girlfriend of Rick (James Marsden).

Simultaneously, Adams had begun to establish a big screen career mostly in independents, beginning with parts in Richard Linklater's "Dazed and Confused" and "The Pros and Cons of Breathing" (both 1993). Adams appeared briefly as James Caan's daughter in "The Program" (also 1993) and had a two-line role alongside Parker Posey in "Sleep With Me" (1994). In "S.F.W." (also 1994), she played Stephen Dorff's ex-girlfriend and then appeared with Ben Affleck as one of the titular "Mallrats" (1995), directed by her off-screen companion Kevin Smith. Smith wrote and directed "Chasing Amy" (1997) for the actress. As Alyssa Jones, the bisexual comic book artist, Adams won the attention not only of screen co-star Ben Affleck but also of critics and audiences alike. Based on her success, she was cast as Vince Vaughn's love interest in "A Cool Dry Place" and opposite Adam Sandler in "Big Daddy" (both 1999).

Adams continued starring in low-budget indies, including Shirley MacLaine's directorial debut, "Bruno" (2000), then starred Sally Field's directorial debut, "Beautiful" (2000), playing the best friend of a Miss America hopeful (Minnie Driver) helping to hide her illegitimate daughter so she can win the competition. After reuniting with Kevin Smith for a small role in the unnecessary "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" (2001), she appeared in the crime drama "In the Shadows" (2001), a moody straight-to-video thriller about a hitman (Matthew Modine) sent to Hollywood to kill a stuntman (James Caan). Adams next costarred in "Harvard Man" (2001), playing an almost-30-year-old philosophy professor whose predilection for three-way sex further complicates the life of a Harvard student (Adrian Grenier) already neck-deep in drugs, gambling and an affair with a devious cheerleader-cum-mob daughter (Sarah Michelle Gellar). For "Dr. Dolittle 2" (2001), Adams voiced the character Squirrel, one of several furry creatures able to communicate with the good doctor (Eddie Murphy). She then turned to television for "On the Edge" (Showtime, 2001), a series of three futuristic short films woven together by a narrative involving an arrogant movie mogul forced to learn three life lessons after being taken hostage by a temp.

Adams returned to her indie roots for her next two features: "The Big Empty" (2003), a black comedy about a struggling actor (Jon Favreau) looking to score easy money by delivering a briefcase given to him by a mysterious stranger, and "Grand Champion" (2005), a heart-warming family movie in which she played a single Texas mother raising a young boy (Jacob Fisher) who kidnaps his prize-winning steer after it was sold to a man wanting to turn the heifer into barbeque. Then in "The Break-Up" (2006), the long-awaited, but much-maligned romantic comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston, Adams further complicates the break-up of her best friend (Aniston) with her louse boyfriend (Vaughn) by giving errant advice. Adams then made her screenwriting and directing debut with "Come Early Morning" (lensed 2005), a character drama about a 30-something woman (Ashley Judd) whose life of waking up with a hangover and a man she d sn't want to know starts to change once she gets in touch with her family's past-and with herself.

Credits

The Quest for Tom Sawyer's Gold

Actor
Jenny Muncaster
Movie
2023

Bugs Bunny BuildersStream

Director
Series
2022

Tankhouse

Actor
Deirdra
Movie
2022

Betrayed Within

Director
Movie
2022

A Scooby-Doo Valentine Bouquet

Voice
Rachel
Movie
2021

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot

Actor
Alyssa Jones
Movie
2019

Still The KingStream

Actor
Debbie Lynn Cooke
Series
2016
57%

Still the King: Extras

Actor
Show
2016

Here Comes Rusty

Actor
Vicky
Movie
2016

Making the Rules

Actor
Becca
Movie
2014

Animal

Actor
Vicky
Movie
2014

Mulberry Stains

Actor
Savannah
Movie
2014

21 Years: Richard Linklater

Self
Movie
2014

Sequoia

Actor
Bev
Movie
2014

Valley Inn

Actor
Althea
Movie
2014

A Country Christmas

Actor
Renae Logan
Movie
2013

She Loves Me Not

Actor
Beth
Movie
2013

Blue Caprice

Actor
Jamie
Movie
2013

Art Machine

Actor
Prudence
Movie
2012

Switched at BirthStream

Guest Star
Jennice
Series
2011

Apart

Actor
Dr. Jane Sheppard
Movie
2011

Endure

Actor
Sirena Lane
Movie
2010

Party DownStream

Guest Star
Diandra Stiltskin
Series
2009
94%

United States of TaraStream

Guest Star
Pammy
Series
2009
85%

ExTerminators

Actor
Kim
Movie
2009

Trucker

Actor
Jenny
Movie
2008

Bunny Whipped

Actor
Movie
2007

The Break-UpStream

Actor
Addie
Movie
2006
34%

Come Early Morning

Director
Movie
2006

Come Early Morning

Writer
Movie
2006

Grey's AnatomyStream

Guest Star
Series
2005
84%

Veronica MarsStream

Guest Star
Series
2004
91%

A Promise Kept

Actor
Daphne
Movie
2003

The Big Empty

Actor
Grace
Movie
2003

Beeper

Actor
Inspector Julia Hyde
Movie
2002

Grand Champion

Actor
Hallie
Movie
2002

Dr. Dolittle 2

Voice
Squirrel
Movie
2001

Jay and Silent Bob Strike BackStream

Actor
Alyssa
Movie
2001
52%

Harvard Man

Actor
Chesney Cort
Movie
2001

In the Shadows

Actor
Clarissa Huston
Movie
2001

Beautiful

Actor
Ruby
Movie
2000

Bruno

Actor
Donna Marie
Movie
2000

Big DaddyStream

Actor
Layla Maloney
Movie
1999
39%

A Cool, Dry Place

Actor
Beth Ward
Movie
1998

Chasing AmyStream

Actor
Alyssa Jones
Movie
1997
87%

Second Noah

Guest Star
Show
1996

Bio-Dome

Actor
Monique
Movie
1996

Double Rush

Guest Star
Show
1995

MallratsStream

Actor
Gwen Turner
Movie
1995
58%

Sleep With Me

Actor
Lauren
Movie
1994

S.F.W.

Actor
Monica Dice
Movie
1994

Uczniowska balanga

Actor
Movie
1993

The Pros and Cons of Breathing

Actor
Shirley
Movie
1993

Vinnie and Bobby

Actor
Show
1992

Top of the Heap

Actor
Series
1991
0%

Married ... With ChildrenStream

Guest Star
Cousin Effie
Series
1987

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