Amanda Joy is a Canadian actress, screenwriter, comedian, satirist, and producer. She is best known for co-creating and starring in the
Omni Television
Omni Television (stylized as OMNI Television) is a Canadian television system and specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications. It currently consists of all six of Canada's conventional multicultural t ...
vocal music
Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with musical instruments, instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which ...
at
Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts
Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts (CCAA, Cardinal Carter, or Carter) is a Catholic arts high school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Admission to the school is granted through an audition process. Serving students from grade 7 to 12, it i ...
, before pursuing Contemporary Studies at
Ryerson University
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...
. Joy's mother is
Filipina
Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...
, and her father is of
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
descent. Joy starred in her first
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
as a child in 2001, under the name Amanda Joy Lim.
While originally training for a career in
musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
(and later
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
), a high school teacher encouraged her to pursue screenwriting.
Career
Joy achieved recognition in 2016 when her sitcom, '' Second Jen,'' premiered on
City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
. Joy has professed her desire to combat the invisibility and misrepresentation of Filipinos in western media. She has also been outspoken about the need for more diversity on TV, telling interviewers that she would "like to stop seeing iversityas an intentional choice," adding that she wants "kids growing up now to see people who look like them onscreen."
She was featured by
FLARE
A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, ...
as one of five Canadian "rabble rousers," telling the magazine she believes "many omen of colourare leaders despite forces that see
hem
A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...
as unworthy, as threats, as less than—as other."
Joy writes for the online satirical news site, ''
The Beaverton
''The Beaverton'' is a primarily online Canadian news satire publication, based in Toronto, Montreal and Whitehorse.Hollywood whitewashing,
online dating
Online dating, also known as Internet dating, Virtual dating, or Mobile app dating, is a relatively recent method used by people with a goal of searching for and interacting with potential romantic or sexual partners, via the internet. An onlin ...
, and sexism in journalism.
Awards
In 2017, Joy was nominated for a Writers Guild of Canada Award for ''Second Jen'''s pilot script "Couch Surfing." In 2019, she was nominated for a
Canadian Screen Award
The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...
for the second season of ''Second Jen,'' and for Best Comedy Script at the Writers Guild of Canada Awards for the ''Second Jen'' episode "Like a Girl." In 2022 she won a Writers Guild of Canada award for '' Amelia Parker/The Parker Andersons.''
video games
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
. She is a supporter of the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...