Defying genres

Elle King was born in Los Angeles, California in 1989 to actor Rob Schneider and London King, a former model and actress.

Music was a passion of Elle King’s from a young age, and she started playing guitar at 13 years old.

After busking in New York City for a few years as a teenager, she was signed to RCA Records. She then released The Elle King EP in 2012. Although it received positive reviews, the EP didn’t get much traction. However, in 2015, she released Love Stuff.

This second EP featured the lead single “Ex’s and Oh’s” which propelled King to success. The track reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and earned King a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance. She’s since been nominated for an array of other awards and has won two American Music Awards.

Outside of her music, King has starred in several movies with her father, has hosted an episode of Catfish and has been in the spotlight for her up and down love life. She had a whirlwind romance with Andrew Fergusun, marrying him after just 12 days. The marriage didn’t last but Elle is now with tattoo artist Dan Tooker. The couple welcomed their first baby in September 2021.

Early life and career beginnings

Elle King was born Tanner Elle Schneider, in Los Angeles on the 3rd of July, 1989. Her parents — comedian and actor Rob Schneider and model London King — divorced when she was just a baby. From then, she was raised primarily by her mother. She and Rob Schneider had a tricky father-daughter relationship for some years but now seem to have reconciled, with King claiming Schneider is her biggest supporter.

In her earlier years, Elle even starred in several films with her father — Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo in 1999, The Benchwarmers in 2006, and Wild Cherry in 2009.

However, it was music, rather than acting, that captured King’s heart. When she was nine, Elle’s stepfather gave her an album by The Donnas — an all-female hard rock band. For Elle, that was a pivotal moment, and from that day on, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in music. Around the same time, she also began to foster a love for The Runaways and Blondie, too.

At the age of 13, King started playing guitar, and spent her teenage years in New York City. During this time, around the age of 16, she started gigging at local bars and nightclubs using a fake ID. She also went to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia to study painting and film.

Following her studies, she moved back to New York and worked in a tattoo parlour. She used this time to hone her creative songwriting skills and immerse herself in the local music scene. Soon, she was signed to RCA Records by the newly appointed Chairman, Peter Edge.

She released a debut single, “Good to Be a Man” in 2012, as part of The Elle King EP. Sadly, the EP didn’t gain much popularity.

Ex’s & Oh’s

However, 2014 saw the release of “Ex’s & Oh’s” which would become the lead track on King’s 2015 release, Love Stuff. The single and album marked a turning point in Elle King’s career. “Ex’s & Oh’s” reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and landed King Grammy Award nominations for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song.

Since the success of these releases, King has stepped out of the limelight a little, focusing on spending time with her family. Despite this, she went on to release a second studio album in 2018, Shake the Spirit and has a new album upcoming.

Elle King's music is a mix of country, rock, soul, and blues and her voice has a unique tone that’s both powerful and vulnerable. She’s cited Patsy Cline, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Etta James, and Otis Redding as musical influences.

In an interview, she said of her sound: "I like to refer to it as dirty hair music ... kind of like you just got out of bed ... I don't take myself too seriously when it comes to music."

Relationships and personal life

Elle King has had a tumultuous personal life and is no stranger to heartbreak. In January 2016, King started dating Andrew Ferguson and the pair had a whirlwind romance. They met in a hotel lobby and got married after just 12 days.

Unfortunately, their marriage was short-lived and the pair filed for divorce in May 2017. On April 23rd 2018, Ferguson was arrested and charged with a felony of domestic violence after he grabbed King by the throat and threatened to kill her. All charges were eventually dropped when King and Ferguson briefly reconciled in late 2017.

King’s love life improved, and in October 2018, she started dating Dan Tooker, a tattoo artist. The couple now have a son, Lucky Levi Tooker, who was born in September 2021.

King recently attended the 2022 Billboard Music Awards (BBMA) and shocked fans when she appeared on stage in a wheelchair, prompting the question “why is Elle King in a wheelchair?” Luckily, it turns out that King had only sprained an ankle, and that the injury was nothing more permanent.

While Elle King’s music career is still relatively young, she’s brought a refreshing new lease of life to the country genre.

Kristian Bush