If you’ve watched British telly at any point in the last decade and a half, chances are Joey Essex has popped up on your screen at least once. He’s bubbly, he’s brilliantly unpredictable, and he’s somehow managed to turn being himself into a full-blown career. But behind the bleached-tip hair and the catchphrases is a real story about family, grief, grit, and reinvention. And you can’t tell that story properly without talking about the people who shaped him, starting with his dad, Donny Essex. So let’s dig into who Joey really is, where he came from, and why he’s still one of the most recognisable faces in the UK entertainment scene.
Who Is Joey Essex, Really?
Joey Essex is an English television personality, entrepreneur, and now amateur-turned-pro boxer who first burst onto the scene through reality TV. Born in Southwark, London, in the summer of 1990, he became a household name almost overnight thanks to his unscripted charm and a habit of saying exactly what he was thinking. People often assume his surname is a stage name because he’s so closely associated with the county and the show that launched him, but it’s genuinely his. That mix of authenticity and showmanship is the secret sauce that’s kept him relevant when so many of his reality TV peers have faded into obscurity. He’s the kind of personality you can’t really manufacture, which is probably why audiences have stuck with him for so long.
Joey Donald Essex: The Name Behind the Fame
Officially, he’s Joey Donald Essex, and that middle name isn’t just a throwaway detail. The “Donald” is a direct nod to his father, Donny Essex, which makes the full name feel less like a label and more like a family heirloom he carries around. For years, fans across the UK, the US, and Canada have wondered whether “Joey Essex” was a clever invention dreamed up by a marketing team, given how perfectly it fits the brand. But the truth is far simpler and far more charming: that’s the name on his birth certificate. The Joey Donald Essex story is one of a regular kid from South London who happened to share a surname with the place that made him famous, and he’s leaned into that delightful coincidence ever since.
Growing Up: Donny Essex and a Childhood in Southwark
Long before the cameras showed up, Joey was just a boy being raised in a tight-knit working-class family. His father, Donny Essex, played a central role in his upbringing, and the two have remained noticeably close throughout Joey’s career. Donny Essex isn’t a stranger to the spotlight either, having made appearances alongside his son on shows like The Only Way Is Essex and I’m a Celebrity, where his dry humour and protective dad energy went down a treat with viewers. There’s a real warmth between them that comes across on screen, and Joey has frequently credited his father with holding the family together during their hardest years. In many ways, Donny Essex is the quiet anchor in Joey’s life, the steady presence behind a son whose career has been anything but steady.
Tina Essex: The Heartbreak That Shaped Him
You can’t understand Joey Essex without understanding the loss that defined his childhood. His mother, Tina Essex, died in 2001 when Joey was just ten years old, an unthinkable tragedy for a young boy still trying to make sense of the world. Tina Essex’s death left a profound mark on Joey, and for years he admitted he buried the grief rather than facing it, partly because he didn’t have the words for what he was feeling. He’s since spoken openly about how that loss affected his education, his emotions, and his sense of self, describing a sadness he carried quietly for the best part of two decades. What’s remarkable is how he eventually transformed that pain into purpose, choosing to speak publicly about Tina Essex in the hope that it might help other young people going through something similar.
Frankie Essex: More Than Just a Sister
If Donny Essex was the anchor, then Frankie Essex was the lifeline. Joey’s older sister stepped up enormously after the loss of their mum, taking on a caretaking role well beyond her years. Frankie Essex is a reality TV personality in her own right, having appeared on The Only Way Is Essex alongside her younger brother, and the sibling dynamic between the two of them became a genuine highlight of the show. Their bond is the real deal, forged through shared grief and a determination to look after one another no matter what. Frankie Essex has gone on to build her own life and family, but the connection between the Essex siblings remains one of the most touching threads running through Joey’s public story. Watching them together, you get the sense that whatever fame threw at them, they always had each other’s backs.
The Only Way Is Essex: Where It All Began
Joey’s big break came in 2011 when he joined the cast of the hit ITV reality series The Only Way Is Essex, better known to fans as TOWIE. He arrived in the second series as a supporting cast member, appearing alongside his cousin Chloe Sims, before being promoted to the main cast in the third series once producers realised they had something special on their hands. TOWIE was a scripted-reality phenomenon, blending soap-opera drama with genuine personalities, and Joey quickly became its breakout star. His naive, lovable persona stood out in a cast full of glamour and gossip, and viewers couldn’t get enough of his off-the-wall comments and genuine confusion about everyday things. By the time he left the show in late 2013, he’d already become one of the most talked-about reality stars in the country.
“Reem” and the Rise of a Catchphrase
Every reality star dreams of leaving a mark on pop culture, and Joey managed it with a single word: “reem.” He used it to describe anything excellent or cool, and it spread like wildfire, eventually finding its way into casual conversations up and down the country. The TOWIE cast even recorded a novelty single called “Reem” back in 2011, cementing the word’s place in the show’s legacy and giving Joey an early taste of the music world. What started as a bit of Essex slang became a genuine cultural moment, the kind of thing that defines an era of British television. To this day, “reem” is inseparable from Joey’s brand, and he’s smartly built businesses and products around that catchy, instantly recognisable bit of personal vocabulary.
Beyond TOWIE: A Reality TV Marathon
Leaving TOWIE could easily have been the end of Joey’s run, but instead it was just the warm-up. He threw himself into a remarkable string of reality competitions, proving he was far more than a one-show wonder. In 2013 he competed on the diving series Splash! and then finished fourth on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, where his loveable cluelessness made him an instant fan favourite. He fronted his own ITV2 series, Educating Joey Essex, which followed him as he tried to learn about the world around him, and the show was popular enough to earn additional runs. He won Channel 4’s winter sports show The Jump in 2015, appeared on the Paramount+ series All Star Shore, and even tackled the Australian version of I’m a Celebrity, where he placed sixth. The man simply does not sit still.
Dancing on Ice and the Softer Side of Joey
In 2023, Joey took on one of the toughest challenges of his career when he competed on the fifteenth series of Dancing on Ice. Skating is brutally difficult, and it demands a level of discipline and vulnerability that reality TV rarely asks for. Joey rose to the occasion brilliantly, improving week after week and ultimately finishing as the runner-up. What made his stint on the show so memorable wasn’t just the footwork, though, it was the emotional honesty he brought to it. He dedicated performances to the family he’d lost and let viewers see a more reflective, mature version of himself. It was a reminder that beneath the comedy and the catchphrases, there’s a thoughtful person who’s done a lot of growing up in front of the nation.
Love Island and the Celebrity Bombshell Moment
Just when people thought they’d seen every side of Joey, he walked into the Love Island villa in 2024 and made history as the show’s first-ever celebrity bombshell. It was a genuinely clever move, both for Joey and for the programme, and it sent fans into a frenzy. International viewers who’d never heard of TOWIE were suddenly Googling whether “Joey Essex” was even a real name, sparking a whole new wave of curiosity about the Joey Donald Essex backstory. His time in the villa brought drama, romance, and plenty of debate, exactly what you’d expect when you drop a seasoned reality veteran into a house full of newcomers. It also proved that, more than a decade after his debut, Joey still knows exactly how to capture a national conversation.
Joey Don Essex: Stepping Into the Boxing Ring
In a twist that surprised almost everyone, Joey announced he was making the leap into professional boxing in 2025. For this new chapter, he chose to fight under the name “Joey Don Essex,” deliberately separating the disciplined athlete in the ring from the playful TV personality the public knows. The name makes perfect sense given his full name is Joey Donald Essex, and it carries that familiar nod to his dad, Donny Essex, into the sporting arena. He’s been training under his uncle, Tony Sims, a hugely respected coach who has worked with world champions, and Joey has been putting in serious hours sparring with genuine professionals. His debut on a Manchester undercard marked a complete reinvention, a chance to show audiences a tougher, more determined side that few people ever expected to see from the lad who once asked what a vajazzle was on national television.
The Businessman: Fusey, D’Reem, and Brand Building
For all his on-screen antics, Joey has always had a sharp eye for business. Early in his rise to fame, he opened a clothing and lifestyle shop called Fusey in Brentwood, turning his personal style into a retail venture. He also launched a hair products line called D’Reem Hair, cleverly riffing on his famous catchphrase to create a brand that fans could actually buy into. On top of that, he authored a book titled Being Reem, sharing his life story and his unique outlook on the world. These ventures show that Joey understood something a lot of reality stars miss: fame is fleeting, but a strong personal brand can keep paying off long after the cameras stop rolling. He’s effectively turned “being Joey Essex” into a sustainable enterprise, and that entrepreneurial instinct deserves real credit.
Giving Back: Joey Essex and Child Bereavement UK
Perhaps the most meaningful part of Joey’s public life has nothing to do with ratings or businesses. Since 2014, he’s been an ambassador for Child Bereavement UK, a charity that supports children and families coping with the death of a loved one. Given his own experience losing his mother, Tina Essex, at such a young age, this is deeply personal work for him. He made a powerful documentary exploring his grief, in which he confronted feelings he’d suppressed for years and encouraged other young people to talk about their losses rather than bottling them up. It’s a side of Joey that doesn’t get nearly enough attention, and it reveals a genuine generosity of spirit. Turning private heartbreak into public advocacy takes real courage, and it’s arguably his most impressive achievement of all.
What Makes Joey Essex So Enduring?
So what is it about Joey that’s kept him in the spotlight for so long? Part of it is that wonderful unpredictability, the sense that you never quite know what he’s going to say next. But there’s something deeper too. Audiences can tell the difference between a manufactured persona and a real human being, and Joey, for all his eccentricities, has always felt authentic. He’s grown up in public, weathered tragedy, reinvented himself repeatedly, and somehow stayed likeable through all of it. From the kid raised by Donny Essex and supported by his sister Frankie Essex, to the boxer fighting under the Joey Don Essex banner, he’s a portrait of someone who refuses to be boxed into a single identity. That willingness to evolve is exactly why he’s still standing while so many others have faded away.
FAQs
Is Joey Essex his real name?
Yes, it genuinely is. He was born Joey Donald Essex in Southwark, London, and despite the perfect overlap with the county and the show that made him famous, “Essex” is his actual surname, not a stage name.
Who is Joey Essex’s dad, Donny Essex?
Donny Essex is Joey’s father and the inspiration behind his middle name, Donald. He helped raise Joey and his sister after a family tragedy and has appeared alongside Joey on shows like TOWIE and I’m a Celebrity.
Is Frankie Essex related to Joey Essex?
Yes, Frankie Essex is Joey’s older sister and a reality TV personality in her own right. She took on a major caretaking role for the family and starred alongside Joey on The Only Way Is Essex.
What happened to Joey Essex’s mum, Tina Essex?
Tina Essex, Joey’s mother, died in 2001 when he was just ten years old. Joey has spoken openly about the lasting impact of her loss and now works with Child Bereavement UK to support grieving young people.
Is Joey Essex a boxer now?
Yes. In 2025 Joey stepped into professional boxing under the name “Joey Don Essex,” training with his uncle Tony Sims to separate the disciplined athlete from his playful TV persona.
Conclusion
Joey Essex is so much more than the bumbling reality star caricature that first made him famous. He’s a son who adores his father, Donny Essex, a brother who leaned on Frankie Essex through unimaginable loss, and a man still carrying the memory of his mother, Tina Essex, with him every single day. The story of Joey Donald Essex is one of resilience, reinvention, and a refusal to stay in his lane, whether that means lacing up ice skates, walking into the Love Island villa, or stepping into a boxing ring under a brand-new name. Behind the laughs and the catchphrases is a genuinely compelling human being who has turned both triumph and tragedy into a career that just keeps evolving. And if his track record tells us anything, it’s that we almost certainly haven’t seen the last of him yet.
