Joel Kim Booster family includes his father Kenneth Booster, mother Janet Booster, brother Samuel Booster, and his sister Rebecca Booster. He was born in South Korea and doesn’t know anything about his birth parents.
He said that he isn’t obsessed with finding his birth parents. Speaking about the prospect of meeting his birth parents, Joel shared with Glamour, “But as for reaching out to my birth family or not, it’s so up in the air. I’ve never been super hung up about them or that curious. I’ve never felt the pull to be like, “I need to meet them, or find out why,” or anything like that. I love my parents…. I can’t really conceptualize them as anything but my parents. Full stop, 100%. Because that’s honestly how they’ve always treated me too”.
His adoptive parents took him in when he was just three months old. They were a strict, white, evangelical Christian couple from Plainfield, Illinois.
Speaking to Glamour, Joel explained, “I think the legend goes three months. But I know there were some delays because of the terrorist attacks at the ’88 Olympics, so I’m not exactly sure”. He was raised at home until high school after being “GrubHub-style” brought to a largely white, cookie-cutter Chicago suburb.
Who Are Joel Kim Booster Family Members?
Joel’s adoptive parents Kenneth J Booster and Janet L Booster married on 17 March 1979. They were married for 42 years until his father’s death.
Although he had an Asian heritage, because of his upbringing, Joel claimed he never felt like one and could never relate to the Asian community. That doesn’t mean he never tried.
Joel tried to connect to his Asian side by joining a public school where he made an attempt to befriend Asian students.
Joel kept his sexual orientation a secret from his family even though he was gay from a young age. The names of the boys Joel hooked up with during his senior year were listed in his diary, which Joel’s parents later found. Joel ended up couch surfing after leaving his parents’ home at the age of 17 until he could move in with a family friend.
Joel ended himself sleeping on couches at various friends’ homes, eventually ending up at the home of a girl from choir he didn’t know very well. But they became friends immediately, and he spent the rest of high school with her and her family, with her family even helping him pay for college.
Joel didn’t speak to his parents again until he was in college, but the separation helped him heal. He describes their current relationship as “excellent” and “as wonderful as it could be.” While he’s been able to use anecdotes from this time as material for his stand-up, it wasn’t until much later that he discovered he could.
“Coming out was sort of the catalyst to moving out,” Joel told Character Media. “I was repressed for a long time, and I didn’t have an outlet to talk about it or a support system at home to help deal with a lot of the emotional issues I was going through. … We had a really toxic relationship in my early childhood as I hit puberty. But it wasn’t just them; I don’t want to paint them as villains in that situation because they weren’t. It just ended up being the best for the both of us that I leave and take some space”.
Meet Joel Kim Booster Father, Kenneth J Booster
Kenneth J Booster is the father of Joel Kim Booster. Kenneth was born to James and Odella (Fruchtnicht) Booster on 4 November 1946 in Versailles, IN. James and Odella raised him on their family farm.
On Father’s Day 2015, he wished his dad via a Facebook post. He wrote, “Happy Father’s Day to my pop. We are not the perfect match, but we love each other anyway”.
Kenneth sadly died on 13 March 2021. A few days after his death, Joel posted on his Facebook that it took them a long time to understand each other. Joel was never interested in farm equipment or fishing or hunting, so he assumed he was never the son his father wished for.
Joel concluded the post with, “He got off on that shit. Our relationship was imperfect but all of it feels so far away now. I didn’t tell him I loved him enough when he was alive but I loved him intensely and am so thankful for his never-ending patience. I love you forever pop”.
Career-wise, Joel worked at CASE IH as an engineer. Kenneth graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and began his career with Case New Holland as a Structural Test Engineer where he worked for more than 40 years.
Meet Joel Kim Booster Mother, Janet L Booster
Joel Kim Booster’s mother Janet L Booster was born to Clarence H Baldwin and Elsie Baldwin. She was born in January 1957, which makes her 65 years old in 2022.
His mom has three siblings Charles E. Baldwin, Robert D. Baldwin, and April E. Beattie. On Mother’s Day 2015, Joel posted on his Instagram, “Happy Mother’s Day to the woman who taught me to be kind to every checkout person you encounter, for theirs is the worst job”.
Janet was a home health nurse. He shared in Joke Writing, “she always brought home stray pets, so it was way more exciting than it sounds”.
Meet Joel Kim Booster Brother, Samuel Booster
Before Kenneth and Janet made the decision to adopt Joel, they already had two children. One of them is Samuel Booster, Joel’s brother. Samuel was born in April 1986. So, in 2022, he is 36 years old. He is currently based in Tucson, Arizona. He is available on Facebook.
Meet Joel Kim Booster Sister, Rebecca Booster
Rebecca Booster is the sister of Joel Kim Booster. Rebecca is 42 years old in July 2022. May 1980 marked the year she was born. She is currently married to her husband Daniel Laib. Dan and Rebecca along with their child live in Plainfield, Illinois.
Dan is an illustrator and an artist by profession. He has a Facebook page named Dan Gogh.
Related FAQs
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Is Joel Kim Booster Family White?
Yes, except for Joel Kim Booster, his family members are White Americans.
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Where Does The Joel Kim Booster Family Live?
Joel Kim Booster’s mother lives in Lockport, Illinois. His brother lives in Tucson, Arizona. Whereas, his sister and her family live in Plainfield, Illinois.
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Are Joel Kim Booster Family Members On Instagram?
No, they are not on Instagram but all of them are on Facebook. Janet’s Facebook (@janet.b.booster), Rebecca (@rivakah), and Samuel (@samuel.booster).
