Joey Lauren Adams

**Joey Lauren Adams** (born January 9, 1968) is an American actress and director. She appeared in several Kevin Smith View Askewniverse films, including *Chasing Amy*, for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

## Early life and career

Joey was born in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Her father was a lumber yard owner. She moved to Hollywood in 1988.

She began her film career as a child actress in 1977 with a small part in *Exorcist II: The Heretic*. But it wasn't until 1993 that Adams' breakthrough role came, in Richard Linklater's *Dazed and Confused*, a 1993 film which also starred Ben Affleck and Matthew McConaughey. That same year, she appeared in *Bio Dome* as Pauly Shore's environmentally-conscious girlfriend; and in *Coneheads*, as a boisterous teen gal pal of Connie Conehead.

She was in the film *Mallrats*, her first movie directed by Kevin Smith. She then received her first lead role, in Smith's 1997 film *Chasing Amy*, opposite Ben Affleck. Adams received a great deal of attention for her portrayal of Alyssa Jones, a lesbian who falls for a man (Affleck). Smith wrote as well as directed the film, which was largely inspired by his relationship with Adams herself.

Adams' performance in "Amy" earned her both the 1997 Chicago Film Critics Award and Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for "Most Promising Actress," and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture—Comedy/Musical. Adams also contributed the song "Alive" to the soundtrack of *Chasing Amy*, writing it and performing it in one of the scenes of the film. She also appeared briefly in Smith's 2001 work, *Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back*, reprising the role of Alyssa Jones. Later, she reprised the role, in voice form only, for *Clerks: The Lost Scene*, featured on the *Clerks X* DVD.

After having the female lead in the successful 1999 Adam Sandler film, *Big Daddy*, she would go on to appear in many smaller films, including *A Cool, Dry Place*, *Beautiful* and *In the Shadows*. She also appeared in two episodes of *WIkipedia:Married...with Children*, in the role of Mona Mullins in the episode *"Top of the Heap"*, which served as the original pilot for two MWC short-lived spinoff series *Top of the Heap* and later *Vinnie & Bobby*, and as Janey, the buxom, blonde fiancee of Bud Bundy's Cousin Jimmy in the *MWC* episode *"The Wedding Show"*. A veteran actress who has appeared in more than 30 films, Adams' most prominent roles were as Layla Maloney in *Big Daddy* and the Kevin Smith-directed *Chasing Amy*

Some speculation has been made that her unusual speaking voice hampered her chances of Hollywood stardom, to which she has commented: "It's not a normal voice. It doesn't fit into people's preconceptions about what a woman's voice should sound like. My mom doesn't think I have an unusual voice, though. I'm sure it's helped me get some roles. But 'Chasing Amy' I almost didn't get. There was concern the voice would grate on some people, which some critics said it did."

In 2005, she had a guest role in an episode of TV show *Veronica Mars*. During 2006, Adams released her directorial debut, *Come Early Morning*, starring Ashley Judd, Jeffrey Donovan, Diane Ladd, Tim Blake Nelson and Laura Prepon. The film, shot on location in Little Rock and North Little Rock, was selected for the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.

## Personal life

Adams shares her hometown with another Hollywood actress, Mary Steenburgen.

In a 1997 article by planetout.com, she is reported to have said, "I'm bisexual, and I realized that when I went to Bali where the culture there is very bisexual, and it is the first time I was very attracted to women. I have a lot of friends who are [that way]; in fact, most". More recently, in a 2006 interview with suicidegirls.com, she stated, "I’m not bisexual but I’ve seen on the internet that it says that. It’s a rumor."

Adams married Brian Vilim in 2014. She had previously resided in Oxford, Mississippi.

## Television roles

* *Married With Children* (1987-1997)(1993) (cameo in Season 7)
* *Top of the Heap* (1991)
* *Second Noah* (1996-1997) as Darby
* *Veronica Mars* (2006) (guest appearance)
* *United States of Tara* (2009-10) recurring as Pamela

## Voice roles

### What's New, Scooby-Doo?

 303: *A Scooby-Doo Valentine* | Rachel (voice)

## Personal life

Adams was born in North Little Rock, Arkansas, the youngest of three children. Her father was a lumber yard owner. Adams grew up in the Overbrook neighborhood of North Little Rock and graduated from North Little Rock Northeast High School]] in 1986. She announced her intention to pursue acting after one year as an exchange student in Australia. She currently resides in Beverly Hills, CA.

Adams married Brian Vilim in 2014.

## References

1. ↑ CANOE - JAM! Movies - Artists - Adams, Joey Lauren: She can speak Hollywoodese
2. ↑ PopcornQ Movies
3. ↑ Happily Ever After (en-US) (2015-02-28).
4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `slotek`
5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Arkansas Times`
6. ↑ Happily Ever After (en-US) (2015-02-28).

## External links

* Joey Lauren Adams article at *Wikipedia*
* Joey Lauren Adams on IMDb
* Joey Lauren Adams on AllMovie.com