It's one thing to make it in show business as a teen idol—it's another to be a teen idol with a catchphrase. Joey Lawrence falls into that second, more selective category, thanks to the role that made him a heartthrob. He played Mayim Bialik's character's brother, Joey Russo, in the family sitcom Blossom from 1990 to 1995. The sweet but not very smart jock character won fans both by being dreamy and for what would come to be his signature utterance, a simple but emotive, "Whoa!" Lawrence also had a pop career around the time of Blossom, with his 1993 single "Nothin' My Love Can't Fix" hitting the Billboard Top 10.
Now 46, Lawrence is still involved in acting and music. Read on to find out what his life is like today.
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He's part of a famous family.
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty ImagesLawrence's younger brothers, Matthew and Andrew, are both actors, too. Matthew, who's now 42, is most famous for roles in Mrs. Doubtfire and Boy Meets World, and Andrew appeared in the movie Jack Frost and voiced a character in the series Recess, among other gigs. From 1995 to 1997, the three brothers starred as siblings in the sitcom Brotherly Love, and they've acted together as recently as last year, all appearing in the 2021 holiday TV movie Mistletoe Mixup.
He's still acting.
SGranitz/WireImageLawrence has worked steadily since Blossom and then Brotherly Love came to an end. Over the past 20 years or so, he's appeared in shows including CSI: NY, Run of the House, and American Dreams. From 2010 to 2015, he starred alongside fellow former kid star Melissa Joan Hart in the sitcom Melissa & Joey, and he's played himself in a few projects, including Joey McIntyre's show, Return of the Mac; Dollface; and Call Me Kat, which reunited him with his TV sister, Bialik. That, along with several TV movies, is his most recent role. And according to his IMDB, Lawrence is credited in six upcoming projects, so expect to see lots more of him soon.
And he's still releasing music.
Leon Bennett/Getty ImagesThough Lawrence hasn't released a full studio album since his 1997 sophomore effort, Soulmates, he has far from given up music. The star has released several singles over the years, and, earlier in 2022, dropped a five-song EP called Guilty.
Last year, Lawrence told Fox5NY that it was music, not movies, that first made him fall in love with performing.
"I remember when I was a little kid, it was really music that inspired me," he said. "When I was super, super little, like three or four years old, I was watching the Donny and Marie Osmond show, which is a show where they had a variety show, where they sang and danced, and according to my mother, I was infatuated with that show."
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He's an engaged father of two.
Lawrence has been married twice—first to Michelle Vella from 2002 to 2005, then to Chandie Yawn-Nelson from 2005 to 2020. Before he and Yawn-Nelson split, they welcomed two daughters together. Charleston Lawrence is 15 and made her acting debut with her dad and uncles in the Lifetime movie My Husband's Secret Brother; Liberty Grace Lawrence is 12.
In 2021, Lawrence told Us Weekly of co-parenting with his ex-wife, "At the end of the day, you always take the high road. There’s no excuse for being anything but kind. [Our relationship] didn’t work out on a personal level, but we still share two amazing people. You’ve got to put them first and set an example."
The former teen idol is now engaged to actor Samantha Cope, which they confirmed in August of last year. In his Instagram announcement, Lawrence wrote, "We are beyond excited to see what the future holds for us and to know we will grow old and super wrinkly together is the ultimate blessing."
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