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).
- Also Credited As:
Joey Adams
- Born:
in Little Rock, Arkansas
- Job Titles:
Actor
Significant Others
- Companion: Kevin Smith. together from c. 1995 to 1997; directed Adams in “Mallrats” and “Chasing Amy”
- Companion: Vince Vaughn. became involved during filming of “A Cool, Dry Place” (1999); no longer together
Milestones
- 1988 Moved to Hollywood
- 1991 Had recurring role of sexy teenager Mona on the Fox sitcom “Top of the Heap”
- 1992 Had small role in “Words Up!”, a “CBS Schoolbreak Special”
- 1992 Reprised the role of Mona as a regular on the short-lived Fox sitcom “Vinnie and Bobby”
- 1993 Feature film debut in Richard Linklater’s “Dazed and Confused”
- 1995 Appeared in ensemble of Kevin Smith’s “Mallrats”
- 1996 Had recurring role on the ABC drama series “Second Noah”
- 1997 First feature lead in Kevin Smith’s “Chasing Amy”
- 1999 Co-starred with Adam Sandler in “Big Daddy”
- 2000 Acted in “Beautiful”
- 2004 Had a small role in Kevin Smith’s “Jersey Girl”
