Joy Bryant

Joy Bryant (born October 18, 1974) is an American actress, businesswoman and fashion model. She has appeared in numerous films and television since beginning her acting career in 2001. She has received two NAACP Image Award nominations, and one Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.

Bryant began her career as a fashion model, appearing in advertisements for Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, and Victoria's Secret. She made her film debut in 2001's '' Carmen: A Hip Hopera''. Bryant had her breakthrough after being cast by Denzel Washington in his biographical drama film '' Antwone Fisher'' (2002), in which she played a U.S. Navy sailor. This was followed by a recurring guest role on the NBC series '' ER''. Her subsequent film credits include ''Spider-Man 2'' (2004), the horror film ''The Skeleton Key'' and the drama '' Get Rich or Die Tryin''' (both 2005), and the historical drama ''Bobby'' (2006).

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In 2010, Bryant was cast in the role of Jasmine Trussell in the NBC family drama series '' Parenthood'', a role she portrayed for the series' entire six seasons before its finale in 2015. Bryant hosted her own action talk show ''Across the Board with Joy Bryant'' (2012–2014), which saw her interviewing celebrity guests. She has also appeared on television in guest roles on the series ''Girls'' (2017) and ''Ballers'' (2018).

Early life

Bryant was born on October 18, 1974, in the Bronx, New York to Joyce Bryant. She was raised by her grandmother, who helped support her on welfare. She started dancing at age three. Bryant would later reveal that she was conceived from a sexual assault against her mother, who was fifteen years old at the time of her birth, by an older adult male. Bryant stated: " y mothergave birth to me, not in love but in shame, after hiding her pregnancy from my grandmother for six months."

She described herself as a "nerd" growing up: "I read encyclopedias all day and watched TV. My grandmother, who raised me, emphasized the importance of education. For me it was about being self-sufficient and using my brain." While living in the Bronx, she graduated from CJHS 145x and was a member of the Fieldston Enrichment Program, an elite high school preparatory program. Bryant is a graduate of Westminster School, a boarding school in Simsbury, Connecticut. She studied Latin for a number of years in high school and was the president of the Latin club.

After graduating from Westminster, Bryant was a gifted student and earned a scholarship to Yale University, where she studied for two years before dropping out to pursue a modeling career. Bryant's grandmother died during her freshman year at Yale, which made her lose interest in studying, saying "I lost my biggest cheerleader, my rock. Being 'smart' didn’t matter to me anymore." She later completed her degree and graduated from Yale.

Career

Modeling

While enrolled as a student at Yale, Bryant was discovered by a modeling scout from Next Model Management and was selected to appear in '' Seventeen'' magazine's "Back to School" issue soon after. She began working as a fashion model in Paris. She appeared in advertisements for Gap, Victoria's Secret, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Rocawear. In 2006, Bryant signed a multi-year contract with CoverGirl. She has walked the runway for Tommy Hilfiger and Givenchy. Bryant hosted BET's 2009 Rip the Runway fashion show with Derek Luke.

She has graced the cover of numerous magazines, including ''Teen Vogue'', ''Complex'', '' Lonny'', ''Domino'' and ''Rolling Out''. She has appeared in pictorials for ''InStyle'', ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Paper'', '' Vanity Fair'', ''Vibe'', ''Playboy'', ''Stuff'' and ''Celebrity Skin''.

Acting

Early in her career, Bryant played a small role in Ill Al Skratch's music video for the song " I'll Take Her" (1994). She went on to appear in numerous music videos, including playing the female lead in Santana's " Nothing at All" (2003) and Usher's " Caught Up" (2004). Her acting debut came in 2001 in Robert Townsend's film '' Carmen: A Hip Hopera'', in which she portrayed one of Carmen’s best friends opposite Beyoncé and Mekhi Phifer. After a small role in the action comedy ''Showtime'' (2002), she made her big breakthrough in Denzel Washington's directorial debut, '' Antwone Fisher'' (2002). In 2003, she co-starred in the Mario Van Peebles drama film ''Baadasssss!'', followed by a recurring guest role on the drama series '' ER''. She portrayed Gina, Jessica Alba's character's best friend in the dance film ''Honey'' (2003), which grossed $65.3 million at the box office worldwide.

In 2005, she appeared in several high-profile films, including the horror film ''The Skeleton Key'' and the drama films ''London'' and '' Get Rich or Die Tryin''', in the latter of which she played the childhood sweetheart of 50 Cent. In 2007, she had a minor part in the thriller film '' The Hunting Party'' starring Richard Gere and Terrence Howard, followed by a leading role in the ensemble comedy ''Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins'' (2008). She also played the role of Tunde Adebimpe's love interest in "Will Do", a 2011 TV on the Radio music video. Bryant starred as Jasmine Trussell in NBC's family comedy-drama series '' Parenthood'' (2010–2015). BuddyTV ranked her #19 on its TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2011 list. In 2012, she launched her own web series, ''Across the Board with Joy Bryant'', which featured interviews with celebrity guests. An action talk show hosted by Bryant saw her and the guests doing different activities such as go-karting, climbing and pottery. The series consisted of ten episodes and aired on Reserve's YouTube channel. She had one of the main roles as Debbie Sullivan on the romantic comedy film ''About Last Night'' (2014) alongside Kevin Hart, Regina Hall and Michael Ealy. The film grossed $50 million at the box office.

In 2015, she had a recurring role as Erica Kincaid, a doctor, on the police procedural drama series ''Rosewood''. In 2017, she had guest roles on television shows '' What Would Diplo Do?'' and ''Girls''. The following year, Bryant was cast in a recurring role on the sports drama series ''Ballers'', playing a successful public defender and mother of a rising football star. In 2019, she portrayed Lori Foster on Netflix's teen drama series '' Trinkets''.

Business ventures

She co-founded a production company in 2016. On January 13, 2021, ''Deadline'' announced that Bryant and producer Samantha Taylor Pickett launched a production company, Hot Sauce, with a three-year deal at Sony Pictures.

Fashion design

In June 2014, Bryant and her husband Dave Pope launched a clothing line, Basic Terrain, a casual sportswear to performance outerwear line. The collection was inspired by Bryant's love for the outdoors. Basic Terrain's pop-up store was opened in July 2015 at Satine, a clothing boutique in Los Angeles. Ten percent of the company's proceeds are donated to environmental organizations such as Earthjustice. In September 2016, Basic Terrain became available in chain department store Selfridges in the United Kingdom.

Writing

Bryant has written several personal essays for publications such as ''Lenny Letter'' and ''Refinery29''. She has written about various topics, including her childhood, body insecurities and family. In 2016, '' The Cut'' announced that she was working on a book proposal for a collection of essays.

Philanthropy

She is an ambassador of Oxfam's Sisters on the Planet, an organization that helps women fight hunger, poverty and climate change. In 2011, she designed a handbag for Botkier, named "Botkier Joy Satchel" with fifty percent of the proceeds from every bag’s sale went to Oxfam.

Personal life

In October 2007, ''OK!'' magazine reported that Bryant was engaged to stuntman Dave Pope, who she met on the set of ''Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins''. They married on June 28, 2008, in the Hamptons. She owns a ranch house in Glendale, California. As of 2014, Bryant resided with her husband in Glendale.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web series

Music videos

As producer

Awards and nominations

Authored articles

* Bryant Joy (April 6, 2016)
"Stop Telling Me I Should Have Kids"
''Lenny Letter''.
* Bryant, Joy (July 18, 2016)
"Girl, You Beautiful"
''Refinery29''.
* Bryant, Joy (November 15, 2017)
"Her, Too: My Mother, and the Legacy of Abuse"
''Lenny Letter''.

References

External links

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* interview with Joy Bryant

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Joy
Actresses from the Bronx
African-American non-fiction writers
American expatriates in France
Female models from New York (state)
American film actresses
American television actresses
Living people
Yale University alumni
21st-century African-American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Westminster School (Connecticut) alumni
21st-century African-American businesspeople
21st-century American businesspeople
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women
1974 births
People from Highbridge, Bronx
American female models
Models from New York (state)
Models from New York City
American fashion designers
American women non-fiction writers
American essayists