Elle King’s Ups and Downs Through the Years

Elle was born and raised in Los Angeles by dad Rob and mom London. She decided to become a musician after receiving a record by the all-female hard-rock band The Donnas at age 9. She also made her acting debut alongside her father in his late ’90s movie Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.

Three years after the release of her 2012 EP, King’s single “Ex’s & Oh’s” dropped to resounding success.

“It’s sweet now because you don’t want to be the kid of a famous person and I’m just so glad at this point in my life I get [people saying], ‘You’re Elle King’s dad?’” Schneider previously told Us Weekly in May 2018 about supporting his daughter. “I’m just really happy for her that she’s really getting to a good place creatively that she’s just thrilled about.”

Making a Professional Change

After earning four Grammy Awards for her music, Elle took an onscreen gig in 2019 as a guest cohost on MTV’s Catfish: The TV Show opposite Nev Schulman. She later pivoted to country music with her third album, Come Get Your Wife, which she released in January 2023.

After less than one month of dating, Elle got engaged to Andrew Ferguson in February 2016. They got married 12 days later on a sailing trip. Elle announced their split in May 2017 with an emotional social media post.

“It was and will forever be, one of the happiest days of my life. My heart is broken. My soul aches. I am lost. He is the greatest love of my life. He is my best friend,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “As we separate, and attempt to find our footing through life, all I can hope for us is that we both find happiness within ourselves.”

News later broke that Ferguson was arrested and charged in April 2017 with felony domestic violence after he allegedly grabbed Elle by the throat and threatened to kill her. Ferguson denied the allegations and the charge was subsequently dropped. The former couple briefly reconciled in late 2017 before parting ways for good.

After ending her marriage to Ferguson, Elle started dating Josh Logan, but their romance fizzled out.

Finding The One

In 2019, Elle found love with tattoo artist Dan Tooker. The couple both popped the question to each other one year later.

“We rode horses up a mountain to go gold panning,” Tooker shared via Instagram in October 2020. “I had a ring in my pocket and I was going to toss it in the gold pan and propose to @tattooker … but of course, my soulmate beat me to the punch and proposed to me the exact same way. So I immediately got down on my knee too.”

In response to the post, Elle replied, “I love you, Daniel. One year down, forever to go. I said Yes by the way and so did he!”

A Difficult Road to Parenthood

Elle suffered multiple miscarriages before she became pregnant with her and Tooker’s rainbow baby, son Lucky, born in September 2021.

“I’m really excited to bring Lucky out on the road. It’s been a really big dream of mine to become a mom and have a family. And I’ve always kind of dreamt about having my family touring with me and seeing the world and experiencing life together,” Elle told Music Mayhem Magazine in August 2022. “It’s really, really fun and it fills up my heart and he’s the best.“

Speaking Out About Her Struggles

Elle sparked split speculation when she performed at the Stagecoach Festival in May 2023 wearing a jacket that had the word “single” on it. One month later, Elle had a cryptic response about the outfit and her relationship with Tooker.

“I do love love, I think that love is a beautiful thing. All I can say is that me and my family are really happy and my kid is doing well and I feel great. So, that’s what life looks like for me right now,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “I think maybe if we shifted and say rooting for love for myself, I think that’s a nice little twist.”

Grand Ole Opry Backlash

During a Dolly Parton tribute performance at the Grand Ole Opry in January 2024, Elle was slurring her words on stage and cursing heavily. “You ain’t getting your money back,” she told a heckler in footage taken at the event. “I’ll tell you one thing more: ‘Hi, my name is Elle King [and] I’m f—king hammered.’”

Fans slammed Elle’s inebriated behavior and questioned why she was allowed to shout obscenities during the family-friendly “Opry Goes Dolly” show.

The Opry issued an apology shortly after the show, writing, “We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance.”

King remained silent over the incident but announced via social media that her final January 2024 show at Billy Bob’s Texas was pushed back eight months. She also cleared her February show schedule and postponed the gigs until March.

Two months later, King broke her silence, writing via Instagram, “To everyone sending me love because I’m human and already talked to Dolly 💅 I love you. To everyone who told me to k*ll myself I love you too.”

Addressing Her Issues With Dad Rob Schneider

King opened up about her tense relationship with her father during an August 2024 appearance on the “Dumb Blonde” podcast, saying, “If I would ever spend a summer with my dad it would be on a movie set. I would just get lost in the shuffle. If I ever messed up a shot, if I ever was talking, I would get in f—g trouble.”

According to King, she and Schneider would go “four or five years” without speaking to each other.

“Honestly, when I put out my record and people finally started asking about my dad, my dad called me and was like, ‘Don’t f—g talk about me in the press.’ Like, all right. OK, great. But also it’s like, get f—d. I don’t care,” she continued. “Like, hey, listen, people have asked me about your f—g ass for years. And I’m like, you’re talking out your ass, and you’re talking s—t about drag and f—g anti-gay rights.”

Schneider addressed his daughter’s comments that same month.

“I want to just tell my daughter, Elle, I love you and I wish I was the father in my 20s that you needed and clearly I wasn’t and I hope you can forgive me for my shortcomings,” he said in an interview with Tucker Carlson. “I love you completely. I love you entirely. And I just want you to be well and happy with you and your beautiful baby, Lucky. I wish you the best. I feel terrible and I just want you to know that I don’t take anything you say personally.”