Joey Lauren Adams is an actress and director renowned for her distinctive raspy voice and versatile performances across film and television.
Adams began acting at age nine with a small role in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). Her career gained traction in the early 1990s with television roles, including Mona in the Married… with Children spinoff Top of the Heap (1991) and its continuation Vinnie and Bobby (1992). She also appeared in Married… with Children (1991–1992) and had a recurring role as Darby in Second Noah (1996–1997). Her breakout came in 1993 as Simone Kerr in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused. That same year, she played Christina in Coneheads.
Adams became a staple in Kevin Smith’s View Askewniverse, starring as Gwen in Mallrats (1995) and Alyssa Jones in Chasing Amy (1997), a role that earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, along with Chicago Film Critics and Las Vegas Film Critics awards for Most Promising Actress. She reprised Alyssa in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) and Clerks: The Lost Scene (2004), and is set to return in Twilight of the Mallrats (pre-production).
In 1999, Adams starred as Layla Maloney in the blockbuster Big Daddy alongside Adam Sandler, earning a Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination. Other notable films include A Cool, Dry Place (1998), Beautiful (2000), The Break-Up (2006), and Greedy People (2024). Her voice work includes Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) and Hercules (TV, 1998). On television, she appeared in Veronica Mars (2005), Party Down (2009–2010), United States of Tara (2010), Switched at Birth (2013–2014), Grey’s Anatomy (2015), Still the King (2016–2017), and The L Word: Generation Q (2022).
Adams began acting at age nine with a small role in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). Her career gained traction in the early 1990s with television roles, including Mona in the Married… with Children spinoff Top of the Heap (1991) and its continuation Vinnie and Bobby (1992). She also appeared in Married… with Children (1991–1992) and had a recurring role as Darby in Second Noah (1996–1997). Her breakout came in 1993 as Simone Kerr in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused. That same year, she played Christina in Coneheads.
Adams became a staple in Kevin Smith’s View Askewniverse, starring as Gwen in Mallrats (1995) and Alyssa Jones in Chasing Amy (1997), a role that earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, along with Chicago Film Critics and Las Vegas Film Critics awards for Most Promising Actress. She reprised Alyssa in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) and Clerks: The Lost Scene (2004), and is set to return in Twilight of the Mallrats (pre-production).
In 1999, Adams starred as Layla Maloney in the blockbuster Big Daddy alongside Adam Sandler, earning a Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination. Other notable films include A Cool, Dry Place (1998), Beautiful (2000), The Break-Up (2006), and Greedy People (2024). Her voice work includes Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) and Hercules (TV, 1998). On television, she appeared in Veronica Mars (2005), Party Down (2009–2010), United States of Tara (2010), Switched at Birth (2013–2014), Grey’s Anatomy (2015), Still the King (2016–2017), and The L Word: Generation Q (2022).