When Elle King, born Tanner Elle Schneider, decided to pursue a career in entertainment, she performed with her mom’s last name. At the time, she was estranged from her famous father.
The singer, who just released her first county album titled Come Get Your Wife, was born in Los Angeles to mother London King, who is a former supermodel, and comedian father, Rob Schneider. She was raised in Ohio by her mother and stepfather, Justin Tesa.
Comedian Rob Schneider Is Elle King’s Father

King has a great relationship with Schneider today but it wasn’t always that way. She struggled with being bullied as a child.
“I was the chubby girl with a dad that didn’t visit very often, and everybody made fun of me and were mean to me about it,” King told PEOPLE of her childhood.
When she released her self-titled EP in 2012, Schneider wasn’t even in her life. He was married to his third wife, Patricia, and had two daughters, Miranda and Madeline.
In 2014, she quickly rose to fame with her smash hit “Ex’s & Oh’s.” She did it on her own terms and for herself. She didn’t want to be successful because she had two famous parents.
“Growing up as somebody who was chubby, awkward, funny, has OCD and is weird and quirky and awkward but super sensitive, I had to really fight to be OK as myself. So I didn’t want to be known as someone’s kid,” King adds. “I wanted to be my own person [and] I never wanted to borrow money from anybody, and I’ve worked hard for my family and for me. I want to have a life built for myself, and I want to know that I did it.”
Elle King Is Engaged To Daniel Tooker
Since 2014, she has found more success in the country music landscape. She has won a CMA and ACM award for her collaborations with Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert.
In 2019, King became engaged to her fiancé Daniel Tooker. Tooker, a tattoo artist who is responsible for some of King’s visible tattoos, co-owns Riverside Tattoo Company in Knoxville, Tenn., and Boston.
The two welcomed a son, Lucky, in 2021 and she reconnected with Schneider.
“My father and I have a beautiful and really wonderful, great loving relationship with awesome boundaries,” she says. “I love my dad so much.”
Elle King Recently Earned Two CMT Music Awards Nominations
On March 8, CMT announced King’s two nominations for the 2023 CMT Music Awards. The two nominations are for her collaboration with Bentley on “Worth a Shot.’
She recently notched her first top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales as Come Get Your Wife debuted at No. 9 with nearly 7,000 copies sold. In comparison, her 2018 album Shake the Spirit topped out at No. 15.
As far as any nepotism conversations, King wants people to know that she didn’t ask to be born to two famous parents.
“What I will say to that is, it’s an incredible amount of pressure to be in a shadow,” she told PEOPLE. “I mean, God forbid you’re good at something that happens and maybe was passed down in your family. My dad is a wonderful singer. It doesn’t take away from my abilities that my dad sings. My showmanship and my stage presence? Sure, I grew up watching my dad. My dad can totally command a theater or a small comedy club. And I grew up around really funny, talented, creative people. Of course that’s going to leave an imprint on me.”

Additionally, King is currently on her A-Freaking-Men Tour which wraps in Bossier City, La. on March 25.