Lisa Joy (born May 23, 1977) is an American

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, producer, and lawyer. She is best known as the co-creator, writer, director, and executive producer of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

science-fiction drama series ''

Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction dystopia media franchise that began with the Westworld (film), 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild West, Wild-West-th ...

'' (2016–2022). For her work on the series, she received multiple

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

nominations. Joy's other work includes the ABC comedy series '' Pushing Daisies'' (2007–2009) and the

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

crime drama series '' Burn Notice'' (2009–2011). In 2021, she made her feature film directorial debut with '' Reminiscence''.

Early life and education

Lisa Joy was raised in New Jersey in an immigrant family. Her father is from England and her mother is Taiwanese. Joy graduated from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and worked as a consultant at

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...

in Los Angeles before attending

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

.Heather Wood Rudulph, Get That Life: How I Became the Co-Creator of Westworld, Cosmopolitan, https://www.cosmopolitan.com/career/a8664279/lisa-joy-westworld-co-creator-get-that-life/ Joy was admitted to the bar in 2009 and practiced law in California prior to her career in entertainment.

Career

While studying for the bar, Joy submitted a sample script for the ABC fantasy comedy-drama series '' Pushing Daisies''. A friend passed the script along to a television producer, helping her get the job as a staff writer in 2007. She went on to become the only female writer on the

crime drama series '' Burn Notice''. She later served as a co-producer on the series. In 2016, Joy co-created the

science fiction series ''

'' and serves as its co-

showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

. Westworld had four seasons. The series focuses on "a futuristic theme park gone wrong where robots start rebelling against humans". The series went on to become one of the most popular series on television. For her work on the series, Joy earned nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, among others. Joy, along with her husband Jonathan Nolan, signed a new deal with

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

to write and produce a series for the company. The deal is worth $150 million over five years. As a part of the deal, Joy and Nolan were announced as executive producers on a science fiction series '' The Peripheral'' and an adaptation of the post-apocalyptic video game series ''

Fallout Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the ...

''. Joy's feature film debut, '' Reminiscence,'' was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in US cinemas on August 20, 2021, to mixed reviews and was a commercial failure.

Personal life

Joy married screenwriter

Jonathan Nolan Jonathan Jensen Nolan (born 6 June 1976) is a British and American screenwriter and producer. He is the creator of the CBS science fiction series '' Person of Interest'' (2011–2016) and of the HBO science fiction/Western series ''Westworld'' ...

, the younger brother of director

Christopher Nolan Sir Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British and American filmmaker. Known for his Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters with complex storytelling, he is considered a leading filmma ...

. The two first met at the premiere of the film '' Memento,'' which was based on Jonathan's short story "Memento Mori," and written and directed by Christopher. The couple have a daughter and a son.

Filmography

Film Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joy, Lisa 1977 births 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers American people of English descent American people of Taiwanese descent American showrunners American television writers American women screenwriters American women television producers American women television writers American women writers of Chinese descent Family of Christopher Nolan Film directors from New Jersey Film producers from New Jersey Harvard Law School alumni Living people Screenwriters from New Jersey Stanford University alumni Television producers from New Jersey