Meet Joey Lawrence's Three Children
Former child star Joey Lawrence is all grown up and a father to three children. The small screen veteran shares his first two daughters, Charleston "Charli" Lawrence and Liberty Lawrence, with his ex-wife, Chandie Yawn-Nelson. Charli arrived in 2006 and Liberty in 2010. In 2023, he welcomed his third daughter, Dylan Rose Lawrence, with his current wife, Samantha Cope.
Joey has made no secret of his affection for his children and views fatherhood as a gift. "No words will ever be able to describe what I feel inside when I look at my daughters. Perfection comes to mind, but that doesn't even do it justice," he wrote on Instagram in 2023 alongside a photo of all three of his girls. "I am such a blessed man. The gift of fatherhood is the greatest gift of all, and I am just so incredibly grateful."
The "Blossom" actor is a dedicated parent intent on raising his children without outside help. "We don't have nannies. We do the parenting ourselves," he told OK! magazine in 2013. In the same interview, he also spoke about being a girl dad. "I wouldn't change it for the world. A lot of estrogen, a lot of crying, but it's sweet music to my ears," he said. But who are Joey Lawrence's three daughters? It's time to meet them.
Charli and Liberty Lawrence changed their dad's life
Joey Lawrence of "Blossom" fame has noted time and time again that his world was turned upside-down — in a good way — when he became a dad. After the birth of his first daughter, Charleston "Charli" Lawrence, the actor told OK! magazine, "It changes every facet of your life in every possible way you can imagine. It's an incredible blessing and privilege. It's a lot of change, it's different, but it's all good."
Of course, being a parent is a lot of work, and Joey took on that responsibility with joy. As he said to OK! in 2009, "You know you're totally responsible for them and every move they make. ... It's a tremendous amount of responsibility. It's what life is all about."
It sounds like it took a little while for Joey's career to catch up with his dad phase. "I don't get to play dads too much. I just turned 40, but I haven't crossed over into that plateau," he told PopSugar in 2016 of his role in the film "Wish For Christmas." "I'm a dad in real life, so it was nice to be able to play one."
Charli Lawrence is interested in acting
Charleston "Charli" Lawrence has already shown an interest in following in her dad's footsteps, but the "Gimme a Break!" actor was reluctant to let her career start as early as his did. "My daughter Charli, who's almost 9, she wants to try it. She's amazing at it," the proud dad told The Rebel Chick in 2015. "So you know we called up an agent friend of ours and, and I wouldn't let her go into the room, but they sent her some sides of this pilot, which will remain nameless, and I had her read it. I just literally had her cold read it, and she's amazing." Joey said he sent the audition in, and his daughter landed the pilot.
Even though Charli was bitten by the acting bug when she was still in elementary school, her dad was careful not to let it turn into a full-fledged career back then. "I don't want her to get caught up in that system," Joey said at the time. "Cause it's just not what it used to be. When I was growing up — it's just so different now. I know that sounds cliché, but it really is so different." However, Charli was allowed to work alongside her father in the Lifetime movie "My Husband's Secret Brother," which was released in 2021. She had a small part as the character Madison Everstone.
Joey Lawrence doesn't want any of his daughters to be child stars
Joey Lawrence knows what it takes to be an actor and the challenges that former child stars face, and he is not interested in letting his own kids go through that experience. "I don't want you to do this," he said in a 2017 interview with ET about his girls acting. "Because you know what happens to nine out of ten of these young ladies? It's that they get used and spit out, and nobody remembers them. And all they want is to do this, and they can't do this later." He did acknowledge that he will support them if they decide to pursue acting careers when they are older. As he pointed out, Ron Howard's daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, didn't go all in on her movie career until she was in her 20s, and things sure seem to be working out well for her.
This is not the only time Joey has spoken about discouraging his daughters from being child stars. In an interview with The Rebel Chick in 2015, he discussed how he was fine with Charli Lawrence being interested in acting as long as it was not her sole focus. "I told her that we'll approach this as a hobby, and you know, 'cause I always thought it was a hobby," he said. "I really didn't even know that I made money till I was about 14 or 15 and was talking about cars and trying to get a car, you know."
Charli Lawrence loves books
Charleston "Charli" Lawrence loved to read from an early age. "She's a huge fan of those Little Golden Books," Joey Lawrence said of his eldest in a 2009 chat with People. "We read two ... She's allowed to read one, and she pushes it to two because she loves to read, which is great, and then we say our prayers." A couple years later, Joey gave People an update on Charli's love of reading. "She has the 'My Little Pony' series right now — that's her big thing," he said. "A couple of Beverly Cleary ones are coming up."
Before he knew it, Joey's kids went from reading Beverly Cleary to surfing the World Wide Web. As has been said time and time again, the internet comes with its own set of challenges for parents. In a 2023 interview with People, Joey noted that the world felt "smaller" and less overwhelming when he was a kid because technology wasn't what it is today. "But now you have social media, the internet, and it's changed everything," he said. "It's very tough to navigate as a young person through these times."
Joey Lawrence's kids are aware of his fame
Joey Lawrence has been famous since childhood, and his daughter Charli Lawrence picked up on this early on. In the aforementioned The Rebel Chick interview, the "Blossom" alum shared that while all of his kids are very much aware of his celebrity status, his eldest has suspected they've gotten special treatment because he's a public figure. "My 9-year-old for sure, you know she's almost 9. She knows it, yeah. She's like, 'Dad, I think that they are treating us really nice in this restaurant because you're Joey Lawrence,'" he said.
The girls may know their dad is a celeb, but they haven't seen his and Melissa Joan Hart's iconic sitcom "Melissa & Joey." And the reason why is simple: it's not age-appropriate. "I mean, [Charli] watched like the Christmas episode, you know, but it's not for the 9-year-olds," he said. "I mean, it really is for teens and young adults and people our age."
The girls are kept out of the spotlight
Joey Lawrence doesn't share his life with the world, at least not when it comes to his family. "I keep my private life and my work life pretty separate," he said in a chat with The Rebel Chick. "I'm not one of those actors that loves to bleed the two together." When it comes to celebrities and how they avoid the limelight, Lawrence said he has been inspired by George Clooney and Harrison Ford, two actors who have been A-listers decades but have kept their personal worlds far from the public.
He's also tried to keep his daughters out of the spotlight, bringing them to industry events only every once in a while. "I don't post pictures on Instagram of myself and the kids. It's all about me, my work, my fans, and the relationship I have with them. I want my kids to have normal lives," he said.
Lawrence doesn't post pictures of his daughters on social media often, but he did share a sweet Instagram post dedicated to Charli Lawrence and Liberty Lawrence in 2020. The photo showed them smiling with their pet dog. Joey used the caption to speak about how much they mean to him. "My reason for life. My greatest blessings," he wrote. "Being the father of these two amazing, strong, powerful young ladies ... has brought more joy and happiness into my life than I ever could have imagined."
Their dad wants them to speak their minds
Joey Lawrence is a proud dad to three daughters, and he will be the first to tell you that he has learned a lot from his youngsters. As he once told Pregnancy, "Girls are incredibly intuitive and sensitive."
Early on, it was important to Lawrence that his kids be strong, independent, and confident, too. "I want them to be leaders. I want them to have a strong sense of their self," he said in an interview with Life of Dad in 2019. "Not be afraid to speak their mind. I never want them to do anything that they don't want to do." In the same chat, he spoke more about how he ensures his daughters will live up to their full potential, and it's as simple as speaking to them about what they're experiencing. "They come home from school. They say that my friend said this and that. One is eight, and the other is four. They both go through it," he said. "I am like, look, you have the right to tell her that it is not okay." In his aforementioned chat with Pregnancy, he said that he was already making an effort to not be "domineering" in conversations with his daughter. "I want to make sure that she understands that it's equal, that she's on common ground," he said.
When it comes holidays, Joey Lawrence's family is all about tradition
Joey Lawrence is a traditional man, and this extends to family holidays, specifically Christmas. In a 2016 interview with PopSugar, he offered a glimpse into what their family traditions include. "[The girls] run down the stairs to see what Santa brought them, and then we go to my mom's for Christmas Day, and we have a big meal, and we exchange presents with the extended family, and it's just a beautiful day," he said. "We try to keep it as traditional as possible. That is our tradition — keeping it traditional."
In a separate conversation with Pop City Life, Lawrence shared that his family had introduced a relatively new tradition to their holiday festivities. "The Elf on a Shelf just came a couple days ago. He's doing wild and crazy things. He's in a new position in the house creating chaos as the elves do," he said. The "Blossom" alum also noted that they do Thanksgiving at his house every year.
Tradition doesn't just extend to the holidays, though, and Lawrence has spoken about how it inspires his parenting. "I'm a strict dad! I'm not trying to be my daughters' BFF. I'm more of a traditional dad," he told Us Weekly in 2013.
Joey Lawrence's kids have a 'helicopter' dad
Joey Lawrence takes his role as a parent seriously. He knows that being a father comes with great responsibility, and he wants to do everything possible to ensure his daughters have the best life possible. He touched on this in an Instagram post in 2023. "With all the craziness, fear, and uncertainty that our world is throwing at us right now, there is nothing more important or profound as being a parent," he wrote.
Fans of Lawrence may assume the real-life man who played cool guy Joey Russo grew up to be a laid-back parent, but he is the first to admit that he's not. In a December 2023 People interview, he went so far as to call himself a "helicopter parent," noting that he's especially fearful of how accessible drugs are now. "These kids are buying their weed over Snapchat, and it can be laced with fentanyl," Joey said.
The TV star said he's expressed to his teenage girls to avoid taking anything when they're out with friends. "I don't care if they say it's from a dealer, you just can't do it because they're lacing things with fentanyl on purpose — you eat a gummy bear and then you're dead," he said. "It's really the Wild West out there. I feel like we're parenting in this very brackish period, which has created a lot of tumult, in my personal opinion."
Dylan Rose Lawrence is a welcome addition to the family
Joey Lawrence became a father for the third time in January 2023. He and his wife, Samantha Cope, welcomed their first child and shared the happy news with fans in a joint statement on Instagram alongside a bunch of photos of their beautiful girl. "1.16.23 — Dylan Rose Lawrence — Mom, Dad, and big sisters are all so smitten with you, sweet girl!" the "Brotherly Love" actor wrote in the caption. "Everyone is happy and healthy, and we are overjoyed with gratitude. Wow, what a beautiful journey." Two weeks after Dylan was born, Cope told TooFab, "She's growing too fast."
Joey took to fatherhood like a duck to water when his first two kids were born, and that sure did not change when his third arrived. In August of that year, he told Extra that he was in a state of bliss. "I have three beautiful daughters and finally found somebody that's great, you know, that just makes you happy, and you feel just great being around, so it's a good time," he shared. Of course, that's not to say raising a newborn doesn't come with challenges. "It's keeping me young and it's aging me," he joked to People in December 2023.
Dylan Lawrence's birth resulted in some big changes
There's certainly a significant gap in age between Joey Lawrence's youngest daughter and his two eldest, but as far as Joey Lawrence is concerned, his baby-raising skills weren't too rusty when Dylan Lawrence was born. "I have a 17-year-old, almost 17, almost 13, but it's just full circle, and it's really neat," he said to TooFab in 2023. "I'm well broken in. I'm like an old baseball mitt, super pliable, and I remember it well, crying nights and diaper changes."
Though he's made an effort to keep his kids' lives out of the public eye to some degree, Joey has offered a few sweet photos and clips of his youngest on social media. And those sweet posts are paired with sweet captions about being a father. "The purest joy there is, I've been blessed with three wonderful daughters. #girldad for life!" the veteran actor captioned an Instagram post from May 2023. In another Instagram post from June 2023, the "Love by Design" actor spoke about his girls on Instagram again. "Sometimes, during those most special moments, I really just need to disconnect from the devices for a minute and soak in every bit of the experience," he wrote. "Yesterday was certainly one of those times. I have been blessed three times over with three beautiful, amazing, wonderful daughters!"