Joe Keery was born on April 24, 1992, in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Most people know him as Steve Harrington from Netflix’s Stranger Things – an ultra-recognizable role that turned him into something of an internet darling almost overnight. But acting isn’t his only talent: he was a guitarist in the band Post Animal for years, and now makes music solo under the name Djo. He’s one of those rare actors who seems genuinely reluctant to lean into the whole celebrity persona – even with his signature hair and that easygoing style, he gives off more “chill friend from high school” than “Hollywood product.”
Before Stranger Things, Joe’s life looked like a lot of hardworking young actors’. He went to DePaul University in Chicago to study theater, spent years in small productions and commercials, and slowly started to land bigger gigs. There was no rocket to fame; it was more a slow climb of auditions, minor setbacks, and plenty of background work. When the Duffer brothers cast him as Steve, it changed things, but you still get the sense he’d rather talk about his latest music than bask in the attention.
Joe’s Approach to Relationships
Joe’s always been cagey about his private life. He isn’t the type to post couple shots on Instagram, and he rarely even mentions relationships in interviews. That low-key approach makes sense – he’s openly admitted feeling uncomfortable with the glare of the spotlight, especially when it comes to parts of his life he considers personal.
For about five years, starting in 2017, Joe dated actress Maika Monroe. They met in the spring – right around the time Stranger Things was gaining real traction – and quietly appeared together at some red carpet events. But neither tried to turn their relationship into a headline, and they kept most details under wraps. At some point in 2022, they apparently split, though neither has offered any dramatic explanations or drawn-out statements.
After that breakup, rumors started flying that Joe was seeing actress Chase Sui Wonders, his co-star in the indie film Marmalade. The pair showed up together a few times in 2023, but if they’re actually a couple, Joe’s not in any rush to confirm or deny it. Honestly, that tracks: he’s never been one to announce relationship updates, and he seems perfectly content to keep people guessing.
The Pattern in Joe’s Dating Life
If you look at the people Joe’s been linked to, there’s a clear trend: he dates fellow creatives – mostly actors, sometimes musicians. That’s typical for someone in his line of work. There’s the shared experience of crazy hours, career unpredictability, and constant scrutiny. It doesn’t feel like these relationships are about PR moves or optics; it’s more about finding someone who understands what the job (and the lifestyle) actually means.
Of course, Joe has had his share of baseless rumors – people love to speculate whenever two celebrities follow each other on Instagram or get snapped at the same party. But when it comes to actual, confirmed relationships, he’s pretty adept at flying under the radar, which is rare in the age of constant celebrity oversharing.
In one interview, Joe half-admitted that authenticity matters a lot to him in relationships. He didn’t go much further, and it wasn’t exactly the start of a deep “this is what I look for in a partner” conversation; more of a quick, slightly awkward aside in response to a personal question he probably wished he could dodge.
Past Relationships
Chase Sui Wonders
Maika Monroe
Truthfully, we don’t know much about Joe Keery’s love life, and that seems intentional. In a celebrity culture where oversharing has become the norm and romantic entanglements are used as content, his choice to keep that door shut feels almost old-fashioned. Whether he’s with Chase Sui Wonders, single, or dating someone we’ll never hear about, it’s pretty clear he wants to keep his work and his private life in separate boxes – and he’s managed to (mostly) pull it off.