- Zoey Deutch first broke out on the Hollywood scene with her role of Maya on the Disney Channel original series The Suite Life on Deck
- The actress made a name for herself in ‘Zombieland: Double Tap’ and ‘Something From Tiffany’s’
- Zoey’s father is ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’ director Howard Deutch and her mom is ‘Back to the Future’ star Lea Thompson
At the ripe old age of 15, Zoey Deutch made her screen debut in Disney’s television series The Suite Life on Deck. From then on, Zoey found herself in all kinds of high-profile Hollywood projects like Everybody Wants Some!!, The Politician, and Set It Up. She also caught the eye of many a casting director with her role alongside Woody Harrelson in Zombieland: Double Tap before crushing it in the holiday romantic comedy Something From Tiffany’s. Next up for the gorgeous star is the remake of The Most Dangerous Game with Top Gun: Maverick’s Glenn Powell.
Zoey’s success comes as the New York Magazine’s Vulture declared 2022 as the “year of the nepo baby,” with “nepo baby” being the term for the child of a celebrity. Zoey does indeed land in that category, as her parents happen to be big names in Tinseltown, with her father being Howard Deutch and her mother being Lea Thompson. Keep reading to find out more about her Hollywood royalty, below!
Lea Thompson
Zoey’s mom just happened to be the It Girl back in the 80s. Born on May 31, 1961 in Minnesota, Lea first started off as a ballet dancer before turning her sights on Hollywood. She landed a role in 1983’s Jaws 3-D and everything fell into place soon after its premiere. She followed up with roles in All the Right Moves (1983), Red Dawn (1984), and The Wild Life (1984). Then she hit it big with 1985’s Back to the Future, where she played Michael J. Fox’s love interest/mother, Lorraine Baines McFly, in the blockbuster comedy adventure. She also starred in the two sequels.
The sting of hits didn’t stop there, as Lea was the lead female in SpaceCamp, Howard the Duck and Some Kind of Wonderful. After a few more high-profile films, Lea turned to the small screen, where she had a hit sitcom on NBC in the late 90s called Caroline in the City. More recently, she has worked behind the camera, directing episodes of Resident Alien and Star Trek: Picard.
Howard Deutch
Zoey’s father Howard was a frequent collaborator of the famous 80s teen comedy writer/director John Hughes. Born in New York to a music exec father, Howard soon made his way into filming music videos before landing the director’s chair for Hughes’ 1986 film Pretty in Pink starring Molly Ringwald. Two more Hughes projects — Some Kind of Wonderful and The Great Outdoors — followed for Howard. His more recent projects include directing episodic television.
As for how the two Hollywood heavyweights came together, it was a tale as old as time in Tinseltown. Howard was directing Some Kind of Wonderful where he met and fell in love with his star, Lea. They welcomed daughter Madelyn in 1991 and Zoey followed in 1994.