After Gypsy Rose Blanchard was released from prison on December 28, 2023, she reached out to 24-year-old actress Joey King, who portrayed her in the 2019 miniseries based on Blanchard’s life called The Act.
The Kissing Booth star made the revelation during her recent appearance on the Armchair Expert podcast, where she reflected about her experience portraying Blanchard, who is now 32 years old.
“Gypsy sent me a message recently,” Kind revealed, adding, “We didn’t have any contact when we were filming the show but since she’s been released, she reached out and we had a quick little exchange which was really nice.”
Blanchard’s story was portrayed in The Act, which delves into her life as a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy – a condition brought about by a caretaker, in this case Blanchard’s mother Dee Dee, fabricates the victim’s medical history – thereby falsely believing her entire life that she was sick.
After discovering the extent of Dee Dee’s manipulation, Blanchard participated in her mother’s murder and was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison, of which she served eight.
Reflecting on her audition for the role, King expressed the weight of responsibility she felt in portraying Blanchard's harrowing life story.
“[It’s] someone’s real life. There’s a big responsibility there. It’s not like a biopic, and the person’s not alive anymore,” she admitted.