Joey King loves her dogs, like, a lot. We're on a Zoom call (I'm in New York and she's at the Pasadena Humane Society for this month's Hill's Pet Clear the Shelters campaign) and she's gushing about her shelter pups Fable and Jesse. I can't help but ask about Fable, not only because she's super cute but also because it's one of the coolest dog names I've ever heard.
"Me and my fiancé [producer and director Steven Piet] made this whole list of names 'cause it was so exciting," King says. Even though she grew up with animals, she never got to name one. That is, until now. "[The name] stuck in our heads because a fable is usually a tale or a lesson given that always involves an animal. And I think that rescue animals have so much to teach us and they really are like little fables. She's just the sweetest soul who has so much to learn, but also so much to teach us."
"[Jesse] was found down south and then brought to the shelter in Chicago," The Kissing Booth actress says. "Like when would those two dogs ever cross paths? And now they're brother [and] sister, they're best friends and they provide so much love and joy in our lives."
Pets are definitely an example of unconditional love and joy (not to mention that 87.3 percent of Americans are happier with a pet in their lives), and Jesse and Fable prove that to King every day. "I find so much joy and inspiration and open-heartedness from hanging out with animals," she says. "I'm just really happy that I get to be here today to like, help take photos and help get these animals adopted."
When I point out that there's no such thing as a bad dog picture, she adamantly agrees: "No, they're all good. Even the ones that are blurry and they're walking away from you, it's still a dog in a photo. Chef's kiss."
Not only do Fable and Jesse make King's everyday more special, but they also play a central role in her favorite weekends. "On Saturdays I like to take the dogs on a long hike, which is really nice 'cause [it] expends their energy and they get a lot of sniffs in — they love to sniff around," she says. "And then there is either room for breakfast tacos or [a] bagel with lox and cream cheese going on there."
Another recent weekend activity? Her bachelorette party! "It was so much fun. My sisters did an amazing job of planning everything," she says. "I went to Napa Valley, I'd never been before, [and] went wine tasting with some of the most amazing and close people in my life. And it was just nonstop fun. We will be talking about that weekend forever."
I ask whether anything has inspired her when it comes to wedding planning, and she laughs when she admits that all of her wedding Pinterest boards are no longer stylish. (Honestly, same!)
"It's funny 'cause my Pinterest board from when I was younger was disgusting. Like, it's awful," she jokes. "So now, like my taste is so, so different. So I definitely did not pull inspiration from myself when I was younger. But I just loved planning it with Steven. We've got great wedding planners, Alison Bryan Destinations, and they've got such good taste. So having such great guidance has been really helpful too because you know, I've never planned a wedding before."
There's one more thing I *have* to ask about. Long before she adopted Fable and Jesse, or started planning her wedding, Joey King worked with Taylor Swift on singer-songwriter's "Mean" music video in 2011. When Speak Now (Taylor's Version) came out, King was reunited with not one, but two Taylors for the "I Can See You (Taylor's Version)" music video.
"It was so fun to make," she says. "Being on that set and hanging out with Taylor Lautner and Taylor [Swift] — everyone is so like overwhelmingly normal and wonderful. Like we were just having a good time hanging out and making something together."
The video, in which Lautner (who was Swift's boyfriend when she wrote the original Speak Now) and King are spies rescuing a trapped 2011-era Swift, ended up being a huge cultural moment. Swifties were thrilled to see all three back together — both in the video and onstage at the Eras Tour on July 9.
"It's not necessarily at the forefront of every second in your mind," King says of the experience. "But then when you take a second and zoom out and realize how special this moment is, it was really inspiring and also just made me feel very lucky to be part of it all. Especially having that history of the 'Mean' music video to now, [they're] really cool bookends. It's very neat."
Which of Joey King and Taylor Swift's collabs is you favorite? Let us know in the comments!
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Lead image via Sebastian Reuter / Stringer / Getty Images Entertainment
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