Penn Badgley facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Penn Badgley
Badgley at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Penn Dayton Badgley (1986-11-01) November 1, 1986 (age 38) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Occupation	Actor producer
Years active	1997–present
Spouse(s)	Domino Kirke (m. 2017)
Children	1

Penn Dayton Badgley (born November 1, 1986) is an American actor and producer. He is famous for playing Dan Humphrey in the TV show Gossip Girl (2007–2012). He is also well-known for his role as Joe Goldberg in the thrilling Netflix series You (2018–present).

Penn Badgley first became known for playing Phillip Chancellor IV in the soap opera The Young and the Restless (2000–2001). He has also appeared in many movies. These include comedies like John Tucker Must Die (2006) and Easy A (2010). He also acted in thrillers such as The Stepfather (2009) and Margin Call (2011).

Early Life & Growing Up
Acting Career
Other Interests
Personal Life
Selected Filmography
Awards and Nominations
Images for kids
See also

Early Life & Growing Up

Penn Badgley was born on November 1, 1986, in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents are Duff and Lynne Murphy Badgley. His father worked as a newspaper reporter and later as a carpenter. Penn was an only child. He went to Woolridge Elementary and then St. Christopher's School in Virginia. He also attended Charles Wright Academy in Washington state.

As a child, Penn enjoyed acting. He was part of the Seattle Children's Theatre. His mother supported his dream of becoming an actor. When he was 14, he took an exam and started attending Santa Monica College. He was accepted into the University of Southern California but decided to wait. He later studied for two years at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Penn's parents divorced when he was 12 years old. He remembers wanting to make music around that age. He even recorded a pop song in 1998, but it was never released.

Acting Career

Starting Out in the 2000s

Badgley in 2009

Penn and his mother moved to Los Angeles when he was 11. He wanted to start an acting career. He began doing voiceovers for children's radio stations. His first acting jobs were voice roles for the video games Mario Golf 64 and Mario Tennis 64 in 1999 and 2000.

He then appeared in TV shows like Will & Grace and What I Like About You. His first big TV role was as Phillip Chancellor IV in the soap opera The Young and the Restless. He played this role from 2000 to 2001. For this part, he was nominated for a Young Artist Award in 2001.

In 2002, Penn starred in the TV series Do Over. He played Joel Larsen, a man who gets to relive his teenage years. He also appeared in other TV shows like The Mountain (2004–2005) and The Bedford Diaries (2006). His first major movie role was in John Tucker Must Die in 2006. He later acted in Drive-Thru with Leighton Meester, who would become his co-star.

In 2007, Penn was cast as Dan Humphrey in The CW's popular teen drama Gossip Girl. He actually turned down the role at first! But he accepted after the show's creators had trouble finding anyone else. His performance as Dan Humphrey was very popular. He received six Teen Choice Award nominations for his work on the show.

Success in the 2010s

Badgley at the premiere of Easy A with Emma Stone in 2010

Penn Badgley played Todd in the 2010 teen comedy Easy A. He was the love interest of Emma Stone's character. This movie was very successful and earned him another Teen Choice Award nomination. In 2011, he appeared in the financial thriller Margin Call. The cast of this movie received a lot of praise. Penn won the Robert Altman Award as part of the cast.

In 2012, Penn played Jeff Buckley in the movie Greetings from Tim Buckley. This film was about Jeff Buckley's journey to understand his famous musician father, Tim Buckley. For this role, Penn took guitar and vocal lessons. He also appeared in the films Parts per Billion (2014) and Cymbeline (2014).

In 2015, Penn had a role in the miniseries The Slap. He also acted in the independent film The Paper Store (2016). His performance in The Paper Store earned him awards for Best Actor at the Oxford International Film Festival.

Since 2018, Penn Badgley has starred as Joe Goldberg in the Netflix series You. Critics have highly praised his acting in this show. Many say it's one of his best performances. He was nominated for a Saturn Award for his role.

Recent Work in the 2020s

In 2021, Penn appeared in the independent film Here Today. In June 2024, he starred in the music video for Ariana Grande's song "The Boy Is Mine" alongside Brandy and Monica.

Other Interests

Music Projects

Badgley at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival

Penn Badgley and his friends formed a band called M O T H E R. They released a song called "Easy" on SoundCloud. The song quickly became popular. The group later changed their name to MOTHXR in 2015. They signed with record labels and released their first album, Centerfold, in February 2016.

Activism and Social Causes

Penn Badgley has been involved in several social causes. During the 2008 United States presidential election, he supported Barack Obama. He appeared in a commercial to encourage young people to vote.

In 2010, the American Red Cross announced Penn as a member of their National Celebrity Cabinet. This group helps promote Red Cross services. Penn also supported the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011. He is a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and speaks out about police brutality. He also supports LGBT rights.

Podcast Host

On May 18, 2022, Penn Badgley started a podcast called Podcrushed. He hosts it with Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari. The podcast talks about the funny, awkward, and sometimes tough parts of growing up in middle school. Guests on the show share their own middle school stories. Famous guests have included Drew Barrymore, Conan O'Brien, and Ariana Grande.

Personal Life

Penn Badgley dated his Gossip Girl co-star Blake Lively from 2007 to 2010. He then dated actress Zoë Kravitz from 2011 to 2013.

In 2014, Penn began dating singer Domino Kirke. They got married in a New York courthouse on February 27, 2017. When they married, Penn became the stepfather to Domino's son. In February 2020, Penn and Domino announced they were expecting their first child together. Their son, James, was born in August 2020.

Penn Badgley has been a member of the Baháʼí Faith since 2015. He has talked about how a major oil spill made him think about justice and spirituality. This led him to learn about the teachings of the Baháʼí Faith.

Selected Filmography

Penn Badgley has acted in many films and television shows. Here are some of his notable roles:

Films:

* John Tucker Must Die (2006) as Scott Tucker * Easy A (2010) as "Woodchuck" Todd * Margin Call (2011) as Seth Bregman * Greetings from Tim Buckley (2012) as Jeff Buckley * The Paper Store (2016) as Sigurd Rossdale * Here Today (2021) as Rex

Television:

* The Young and the Restless (2000–2001) as Phillip "Chance" Chancellor * Do Over (2002) as Joel Larsen * Gossip Girl (2007–2012) as Dan Humphrey * You (2018–present) as Joe Goldberg

Video Games (Voice Roles):

* Mario Golf (1999) as Kid * Mario Tennis (2000) as Alex

Awards and Nominations

Penn Badgley has been recognized for his acting with several awards and nominations:

Young Artist Award

* Nominated for Best Performance in a Daytime TV Series for The Young and the Restless (2001)

Teen Choice Awards

* Nominated multiple times for Choice TV Actor: Drama for Gossip Girl (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) * Nominated for Choice Movie Actor: Romantic Comedy for Easy A (2011)

Independent Spirit Award

* Won the Robert Altman Award as part of the cast for Margin Call (2012)

Film Festival Awards

* Won Jury Special Mention - Lead Actor at Manchester Film Festival for The Paper Store (2016) * Won Best Actor at Oxford International Film Festival for The Paper Store (2016)