Zoey Klein is the youngest member of the Klein family on TLC’s ‘The Little Couple.’ Born on September 22, 2011, in India, Zoey’s journey with her adoptive parents, Dr. Jennifer Arnold and Bill Klein, has been screened on TV since her adoption at the age of two in 2013. Here is what we know about the little Zoey.
Her Early Life and Adoption
Zoey’s early life in India underwent a change when she was adopted from Mumbai by the Kleins. The process wasn’t that easy, but Bill Klein thought he had an immediate bond with her upon seeing Zoey’s picture:
“When I saw Zoey’s picture, I fell in love immediately.”
His wife, Jennifer, also agreed with him:
“I always wanted a little girl, too. We always thought we wanted two kids in general. What were we going to do, say no? No, of course not. We decided, let’s do it.”
Moving to a new country and into a new family was initially challenging for Zoey, especially as it coincided with Jennifer’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent recovery.
Like her parents and older brother, William, Zoey has a form of dwarfism. This was one of the factors in her adoption, as her parents have been facing and overcoming similar challenges. Zoey’s speech development included dedicated therapy sessions to address delays due to her initial language exposure in India.
Zoey also underwent a common pediatric surgical procedure to insert permanent ear tubes, which was a necessity unrelated to her dwarfism. Her father shared that she was very brave throughout the process.
Zoey’s Education and Interests
Zoey had a brief period of homeschooling during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Before that, she attended schools in Houston, Texas, and St. Petersburg, Florida, following her mother’s career move to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.
Zoey’s interests range from painting, a hobby she enjoyed during the summer school break, to swimming and dancing. She also shares a close bond with her older brother, and she loves to play with him. There have been hints, through social media, that Zoey may even aspire to follow in her mother’s footsteps in the medical field.
Her Public Life
Zoey’s adaptation to a new life in America was initially with reluctance, but over time, she has flourished. As for their children’s exposure to the public eye, Jennifer noted their indifference to the cameras:
“They are pretty whatever about it. In fact, if a camera gets in the way of what they’re trying to do, they’ll go, ‘Move! Move, move, you’re in my way.'”
Bill also agreed, saying they adapted to have cameras around:
“So the idea of forgetting that the camera is there to produce good reality television… They pretty much have adapted to it when the cameras are around. I think they prefer freedom to do whatever it is they want to do and not have everybody in front of them — the kind of unabated access to the cookie jar kind of thing.”
Zoey’s life is partially documented in ‘The Little Couple,’ which you can watch via Amazon Prime.
