Ella Joyce (born Cherron Hoye; June 12, 1954) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Eleanor Emerson on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

comedy-drama

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

'' Roc'', which originally ran from 1991 until 1994.

Early years

The daughter of an autoworker and a hairdresser, Joyce was born Cherron Hoye in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and raised in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. She graduated from the Performing Arts Curriculum at

Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.

, and went on to attend the Dramatic Arts program at Eastern Michigan University. When financial problems caused her to leave, she returned to Detroit, where she graduated from a business school and then worked as an executive secretary at General Motors. She supplemented the income from that job by reading scripts for director Lloyd Richards, who encouraged her to act on-screen. After she moved to

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

, New York City, she worked as a word processor while she improved her acting skills. After she earned her first film credit in 1979, she changed her name to honor her mother and great-grandmother. She has studied with several professional mentors, and worked in many regional theaters across America and overseas.

Career

Joyce's career as an actress began on stage. Her many theater credits include '' Fences'' (at the National Black Theater Festival), as well as ''Medea and the Doll'', ''Steppin' into Tomorrow''; she was the first to play the roles of Risa at the Yale world premiere production of '' Two Trains Running'', Tonya in the world premiere production of '' King Hedley II'', and Lily Ann Green in '' Crumbs from the Table of Joy'', earning a Jefferson Award. Other stage plays in which she has appeared include ''Bossa Nova'', ''Last Street Play (The Mighty Gents)'', ''Checkmates'', ''Brothers, Sisters, Husbands and Wives'', ''Don't Get God Started!'', ''Louis and Ophelia'', ''Split Second'', ''Home'', ''Not a single Blade of Grass'', ''Odessa'', '' Barefoot in the Park'', and ''Anna Lucasta''. Joyce's television credits include the pilot for '' NewsRadio'', playing the part that eventually went to Khandi Alexander, and series regular "Eleanor Emerson" on '' Roc''. She also played the recurring role of "Jasmine" on '' My Wife & Kids''. She made a cameo appearance in the music video for TLC's " Waterfalls". She has received numerous awards, nominations, and accolades for her performances in the theater, including the New York AUDELCO and the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

Image Nomination (for theater and television). She is also a recipient of the Spirit Of Detroit Award from the Mayor's Office in 1998. Joyce has also had a role in the Tyler Perry film '' Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor''. She played The Nurse in Don Coscarelli's 2003 film '' Bubba Ho-Tep'',The New York
/ref> and Sister Watkins in Warner Bros.' '' Preacher's Kid''. She appeared as Clifton's mother in '' Nina''. She also had a role in the F. Gary Gray action film '' Set It Off''. Joyce is also a personal acting coach and consultant, and has worked with many high-profile artists, such as

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won ...

. She has also written her first book ''Kink Phobia, Journey Through a Black Woman's Hair''. Joyce is also teaching fitness classes called Funkacize which she created and teaches to old school music using old school dance moves to get you moving and healthy.

Personal life

Joyce married Dan Martin, an actor.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Kinkphobia

Ms. Thing Productions, Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joyce, Ella Living people Cass Technical High School alumni Eastern Michigan University alumni Actresses from Detroit 1954 births American television actresses African-American actresses American film actresses American stage actresses 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women