Joey Lagattuta was born and raised on the North Side of Chicago. He attended Hawthorne Scholastic Academy (Go Hurricanes!) from 2007-2015. Joey’s most proud moment at Hawthorne was his role in their 8th grade play Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times. Joey went on to attend Lane Tech College Prep from 2015-2019 where his original play, Egg Salad, was performed at the annual Play Fest, sparking his creative career choice. Joey briefly attended The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2019-2020, where he was a recurring reporter on the television show Good Morning Illini.

Joey concluded his academic career at Columbia College Chicago in December 2023, graduating Summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Film and Television. At Columbia, Joey directed many short films, most notably the absurd comedy Flag Day and campy horror flick American Catastrophic.

For his final semester at Columbia College Chicago, Joey was selected for the highly competitive Semester in Los Angeles program, where he interned at the production company Walden Media (Holes, Wonder, The Chronicles of Narnia).

In his free time Joey enjoys playing ice hockey with friends, searching for the best smashburger in Chicago and playing board games with his older sisters.