Elle King

Elle King

Elle King is an American singer, songwriter and musician from Los Angeles, California. She is born in 1989 and performs under her professional name rather than her birth name, Tanner Elle Schneider. Her music draws on country, soul, rock and blues, and is also placed in alternative country, americana, blues rock, country, country blues and indie rock.

Early life and influences

King grows up in Ohio, between Wellston and Columbus, after her parents divorce and her mother remarries. Her father is actor and comedian Rob Schneider and her mother is former model London King. She uses her mother’s surname to separate her career and identity from her father’s public profile.

At nine, her stepfather Justin Tesa gives her a record by the Donnas, which she sees as the moment she decides to become a musician. Around the same time she also listens to the Runaways and Blondie. She makes her acting debut alongside her father in Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.

She begins playing guitar at 13 and listens closely to artists including Otis Redding, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, AC/DC and Earl Scruggs. Her interest in Hank Williams and Earl Scruggs leads her to learn the banjo. As a teenager she attends Buck’s Rock camp in Connecticut, where she appears in several musicals. She later studies painting and film at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia after graduating from Elisabeth Irwin High School/Little Red School House.

Career

After college, King lives briefly in Copenhagen and Los Angeles before returning to New York, where she resides in Bushwick, Brooklyn. She also lives in Philadelphia during her student years and has spent time in New York City. She works at a tattoo company called East Side Ink and has several tattoos.

In 2012 she releases her debut EP, The Elle King EP, on RCA. One track from it, “Playing for Keeps”, is used as the theme song for VH1’s Mob Wives Chicago. Her debut album, Love Stuff, follows in 2015. Its lead single, “Ex’s & Oh’s”, reaches number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first US top ten single. The song earns two Grammy nominations, for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song, and King is a four-time Grammy nominee in total, with nominations in both rock and country categories.

She later releases “Under the Influence” and “America’s Sweetheart” as singles for rock radio and mainstream radio. In 2016, “Good Girls” appears on the Ghostbusters soundtrack and plays over the film’s credits. That same year she records “Different for Girls” with Dierks Bentley; they perform it at the 50th CMA Awards and win Musical Event of the Year. King also receives honours from the Country Music Association Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards.

In 2017 she premieres “Wild Love”, which uses sparse electronic production and marks a slight shift in style. Her second studio album, Shake the Spirit, appears in 2018 and is made with her band the Brethren. In 2019 she features on Lindsey Stirling’s version of “The Upside” and serves as guest co-host on Catfish: The TV Show alongside Nev Schulman.

Touring and collaborations

King tours with a wide range of acts, including Of Monsters and Men, Train, James Bay, The Chicks, Heart, Joan Jett, Michael Kiwanuka, Miranda Lambert and Modest Mouse. She also performs with Dierks Bentley and is featured on Lindsey Stirling’s track “The Upside”.

Personal life

King’s parents are Rob Schneider and London King. In 2021 she has a child with tattoo artist Dan Tooker, and she welcomes a baby boy that year.