1960–1979: Early life and roles

King was born in Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York. She is a first-generation American; her mother was English and from Liverpool, and her father was of Hungarian Jewish and Czech descent.^[1] King's mother put her into acting at 6-months old in commercials alongside her brother and sister, something she describes as her not having much control over.^[2] In 1965 around age five,^[3] she appeared in the television film Inherit the Wind in a supporting role.^[3] Beginning in ninth grade, she began auditioning for films in New York City: "As long as I kept my grades up, everyone was cool with it," she recalled.^[3]

She soon began training under Bill Esper, a student of acting instructor Sanford Meisner.^[3] She began to obtain parts in soap operas, Off-off-Broadway productions, and in several television commercials most notably Burger King advertising.^[2] Additionally, she worked as an extra, as well as performing as an uncredited dancer in the films Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Hair (1979).^[3] She also had a small supporting role in the comedy film Between the Lines (1977). During this time, she studied art at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology.^[4]

1980–2008: Friday the 13th and after

In 1979, while King was appearing in a commercial for Burger King, she was referred to producer Sean S. Cunningham through a mutual friend for a role in his directorial debut, the horror film Friday the 13th. Cunningham felt King embodied the qualities of the film's lead heroine, Alice Hardy, and he cast her in the film.^[3] Friday the 13th grossed nearly $60 million worldwide.^[5]

The following year, she reprised her role as Alice Hardy in the sequel Friday the 13th Part 2, in which the character meets her demise.^[6][7] After the success of Friday the 13th, King was pursued by a male stalker who managed to learn areas she frequented, where she exercised, and ate lunch.^[8] The man took Polaroid photographs of King that he would slip under the door of her apartment in New York City, and at one point, broke into her apartment and defaced her artwork.^[8] On one occasion, the man confronted her in her apartment and held a gun to her head.^[8] The assailant was apprehended and spent some time imprisoned, but the incident traumatized King, prompting her to leave the public eye.^[8] Her last on-camera screen appearance at that time was a commercial for Downy which she filmed in 1983.^[9] Subsequently, King was hired as a stunt performer and background actor for the Ivan Reitman film Ghostbusters (1984), having been acquainted with the stunt coordinator Cliff Cudney.^[10]

She subsequently relocated to London^[8] where she enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, studying voice and dance.^[1] Upon finishing her studies, she returned to the United States, settling in Los Angeles where she met her husband, Richard Hassanein, the founder of United Film Distribution.^[11] Reluctant to appear onscreen, King reemerged doing voice acting and ADR work, first for Mel Gibson's The Man Without a Face, and the Lasse Hallström-directed drama What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (both 1993).^[12] She continued to provide voice work for numerous Hollywood productions throughout the 1990's, including Philadelphia (1993), The Pelican Brief (1993), Wolf (1994), Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire (1996), and James Cameron's Titanic (1997).^[12] She would later state: "Voiceover work saved me. There's no question it came all around full circle, and I'm a better, more compassionate and stronger actor and artist."^[12]

2009–present: film and other projects

In 2009, she signed on to the science-fiction/horror film Psychic Experiment, marking her first onscreen film appearance in 27 years.^[13] In 2012, she starred in the Welsh Christmas horror film Silent Night, Bloody Night: The Homecoming, an unofficial sequel to the American horror film Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974)^[14] and The Butterfly Room.^[15] King is set to portray Jackie Winters, an investigative reporter, in the upcoming horror film William Froste and Theresa in the short film Admonition.^[16]

As of 2010, King also worked as a winemaker and wine company coordinator in southern Oregon.^[17][18] She has sold her own line of Friday the 13th-themed wines through the company, called Crystal Lake Wines, as well as paintings.^[19]

In 2021, King reprised her role as Alice Hardy in the medium-length horror film Jason Rising.^[20]

On October 31, 2022, a Friday the 13th prequel was announced, titled Crystal Lake. It will be written and executive produced by Bryan Fuller and Victor Miller, along with executive producers Marc Toberoff and Rob Barsamian. A24 will serve as the studio behind the series and will air on Peacock.^[21] In January 2023, Adrienne King was cast in an recurring undisclosed role. She previously portrayed Alice Hardy in the 1980 original film.^[22] Writing for the series was slated to begin in late January 2023 with Kevin Williamson writing one episode for season one.^[22]