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Actor and social media star Madison Pettis is the girlfriend of University of Missouri college basketball player Michael Porter Jr. Porter Jr. confirmed the relationship to the Kansas City Star in 2017 at media day prior to the McDonald’s All-American game in Chicago.
Pettis is a native of Arlington, Texas and is best known for her role as Sophie Martinez on the popular Disney Channel show “Cory in the House.” Her first big break came in 2007. When Pettis was nine years old she starred opposite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the movie “The Game Plan.”
Since bursting onto the scene as a child, Pettis remained in the spotlight and has taken advantage of social media. She currently has over 3.5 million Instagram followers and 1.5 million Twitter followers.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. They Share A “Relaxed” Relationship
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It’s also a long distance relationship. Pettis spends most of her time in Hollywood and Porter Jr. is still in college at the University of Missouri in Columbia. It’s unclear how much time the couple spends together and they don’t have any recent pictures of each other together on social media. Despite that, Porter Jr. and Pettis seem very comfortable with the status of their relationship.
“Part of it has to do with, she’s in the public eye and I’m in the public eye,” Porter Jr. told the KC Star. “We realize that we’re both busy people, so we don’t have to always be texting. I could just give her a phone call at night and she’ll be fine with it.”
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Porter Jr. made his first public appearance with Pettis at the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards on the red carpet. They both commemorated the night on social media. Pettis posted a snap of Porter Jr. during the drive over to the event. Porter Jr. posted a selfie of the couple on Instagram.
2. The Couple Met On Instagram
Porter Jr. has been shy in the past about telling the story on how the couple met. “She told me not to share that story,” Porter Jr. said to the KC Star with a laugh.
However Porter Jr. eventually spilled the beans. “Me and her had talked a little bit,” he told USA Today. “We started following each other on Instagram. One day, I saw she commented happy birthday on one of my pictures. She’s been a kind of a crush of mine for a minute and I had to slide her some DMs. I just said ‘What’s Up’ and somehow she saw it and replied and the rest is history.”
3. The Rock Gave Pettis Her Big Break
Back in 2007, Pettis made her feature film debut as the curly-haired ballerina daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in “The Game Plan.” The memorable performance thrust Pettis into the spotlight, and she has grown up in the public eye ever since.
in honor of 11 years of #CoryInTheHouse @madisonpettis
She also starred on the Disney Channel show “Cory in the House” and the Canadian teen sitcom “Life with Boys” in addition to many other small roles. In 2017 she began her career with NBC appearing in one episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Her new show Five Points will air on Facebook Watch.
First look at my NEW SERIES #FivePoints coming SOON to Facebook Watch !!! GET READY!!! 👀https://t.co/6OsEe4lRUj
4. Pettis Has Dated Other Celebrities
Prior to dating Porter Jr., Pettis dated musician Kalin White from 2014-16. From 2012-13, Pettis was single. Prior to that she dated fellow actors Jaden Smith and Bryce Cass.
Pettis was also rumored to be hooking up with fellow actor Cameron Boyce in 2013 while she was single. Her first relationship was recorded in 2009, when Pettis was just 11 years old.
5. Acting Runs In The Family
Madison is the younger sister of model and actress Antoinette Mia Pettis. Madison followed in the footsteps of her big sister and began acting when she was just five years old. I hope it’s something I can do forever. I love it,” she told IMDB. Madison has become significantly more successful than her older sister.
Madison’s older brother, Steven, took his career in a different direction, enlisting in the U.S. Army. Madison’s parents are mixed race. Her father is African-American and her mother is Caucasian.
When Madison is not on set, she keeps up with her studies at school. She also enlists the help of a tutor while on set and enjoys her studying “I love researching. That’s one of my favorite parts about school,” Madison told IMDB.
She also likes to shop, go to football games, homecoming dances and other “normal things. Her favorite book was The BFG which she first read in first grade.