DOB:

Kids that grow up in a family of performers usually end up wanting to perform themselves. Joey Fatone fits that mold to a T. Born Joseph Anthony Fatone Jr., he was the son of Joe Sr. who sang in the Brooklyn doo-wop group, The Orions. Joey was always performing and in his first acting gig at age seven, he was already starring with Robert DeNiro in a movie called “Once Upon A Time In America”. From that point on, there was no going back; Joey was destined to be a star.

When he was 13, the family, Joe Sr., his mom Phyllis, sister Janine, and brother Steven all moved to Orlando. It wasn’t long after that Joey landed a job at Universal Studios in the Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue. Joey starred as the Wolfman and got to sing and dance, and more importantly, scare tourists with his big teeth and paws. It was at Universal that Joey met another theme park performer named Chris Kirkpatrick. Chris was a singer in a doo-wop group at the park, but was trying to put together a real group. Chris had already contacted two former Mousketeers, Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez, when the three of them went looking for Joey. They convinced Joey to join the group, and then contacted Lance Bass to round out the quintet.

After a few months of working on dance routines and songs, the band now calling themselves *NSYNC headed to Germany to test out their music and try to build a fan base. They were signed to BMG Ariola Munich and began touring. Before long *NSYNC was the hottest act in Europe and their singles “Tearin’ Up My Heart” and “I Want You Back” became huge hits. The next step for the guys was to return to the U.S. and see if their success would carry across the Atlantic. It did.

In 1998, *NSYNC released their self-titled debut album, and just like that, they were celebrities. The album went diamond, selling over ten million copies, and won them an American Music Award for favorite new artist (pop/rock). That winter, the guys released a seasonal album called “Home For Christmas”, which went multi-platinum itself. Joey and the boys were at the top of their game when an unseen problem occurred. In 1999, the guys got into a legal battle with their management, over personal freedoms, finances, and even their own name. The dispute was handled out of court, and they signed a new record deal with Jive records.

Their next album was properly titled "No Strings Attached", and upon its release, *NSYNC set record sales with one million copies sold in the first day. That number was followed with an astounding 2.4 million in the first week. The guys were nominated for a Grammy award for song of the year, and sold out every arena that was on the No Strings Attached Tour. Amidst all of this, Joey remained his light-hearted self, and loved his new life as part of the biggest band in the world. "The best thing about being in *NSYNC, is getting to travel and perform in front of thousands of people. It's a great feeling to touch so many lives out there.”

While recording their 2001 album "Celebrity", Joey teamed up with fellow band member Lance Bass on the set of the movie, “On The Line”. The movie starred Lance, with Joey co-starring as Lance’s best friend Rod. Joey had previously appeared in the movie “Longshot”, and the experience in “On The Line” would remind him of how much he loved being in front of the camera, which would push him to follow his other dream of acting. The "Celebrity" album, which was a concept album for the band, was released in the summer of 2001, and “On The Line” was released the following October. Joey didn’t have much time to take in all of his work, as the guys headed back to the tour bus to embark on their biggest project yet.

The POPODYSSEY Tour was the biggest and best tour that America had ever seen. Joey and his band-mates brought not only their hit songs with them to every stop, but they also brought to life their groundbreaking videos. The tour was a huge success, and in typical *NSYNC fashion, was followed up by another tour. The Celebrity Tour, which was more low-key and more focused around the music than on the show, would be the guys last project before they decided to take a well deserved break and focus on solo projects that they had been developing. For Joey, that meant finding his way in front of a camera.

Joey was fortunate to land a part in a small movie that ended up being a big hit. The character’s name was Angelo, and the movie was called “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”.


The low-budget film became a box office smash, and Joey received some very good reviews in his role as the brides’ cousin. His next role was as Johnny Capella a lounge singer in the comedy “The Cooler”. Joey also landed a part in the small movie, “The Bros”, but with a bite from the acting bug, he saw it as time to sharpen his skills the more traditional way.

The New York native returned to the Big Apple to star in the hit Broadway musical Rent. Written, choreographed, and directed by the late Jonathan Larson, the rock-opera won both Pulitzer and Tony awards, and was in its sixth year on Broadway. Still considered by many to be the best show in town, Joey made his debut on August 5, 2002 as the unsure filmmaker Mark Cohen. He stayed with the show until December, and his performance gained him rave reviews as critics were amazed at his ability to transform into the character, and shed his *NSYNC image. With music, movies, and Broadway all under his belt, Joey had only one medium left to tackle, television.

In 2003, Joey landed a job hosting the reality show “Fame” in which contestants performed in front of a panel of celebrity judges for the chance to win a management deal with *NSYNC’s management team Wright Entertainment, and a record deal with Wire Records. The show started in May and ran until July. It was in the middle of shooting “Fame” that Joey made the biggest move of his life since joining *NSYNC.

On June 18, 2003, Joey Fatone proposed to his girlfriend of ten years, Kelly Baldwin. In typical Joey fashion, the event was larger than life, as he had a 56 ft. tall billboard posted in front of his house to pop the question. Kelly, the mother of Joey’s two-year-old daughter Brianna, was awestruck by the huge picture of San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts, the one place the two had never visited, but had always wanted to. She said yes, and the two are currently working on a wedding date.

Never one to sit around, Joey is anxiously waiting to rejoin his *NSYNC-mates, and start working on their fourth album. The guys are slated to return to the studio in the fall of 2003, which means that Joey still has time to work on his current acting job as The Big Bad Wolf in the upcoming version of “Little Red Riding Hood”. Joey has played his share of roles, from the Wolfman, to rock star, to Greek groomsman, and back to a Wolf, but it is his role as one fifth of *NSYNC that he cherishes most.

Courtesy of Nsync.com

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