Who is Joy Bryant? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Age: 49 Years, 49 Year Old Females

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Dave Pope

mother: Joyce Bryan

Born Country: United States

Models Actresses

Height: 5'10" (178 cm), 5'10" Females

City: Bronx, New York

U.S. State: New Yorkers

More Facts

education: Yale University

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Yale University

Childhood & Early Life

Joy Bryant was born on October 18, 1974, in the Bronx, New York to Joyce Bryant. She was raised by her grandmother and grew up as a poor black kid.

She started dancing at the age of three and prides herself to be one of the few girls who could breakdance in her neighborhood. She notes that this is her “ghetto celebrity claim to fame”.

During the MeToo movement, Joy Bryant revealed that she was conceived from a sexual assault against her mother when the latter was 15. She also disclosed that she didn’t have a connection with her dad or her mom and lived with her grandmother until she went to boarding school.

She is a graduate of Westminster School, a boarding school in Simsbury, Connecticut. She was enrolled in “A Better Chance” program which helped minority talent to reach their academic goals.

She earned a full academic scholarship to Yale University and studied there for two years in hopes of majoring in Economics and going to Wall Street to make her career.

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Rise to Stardom

During her second year at the university, Joy Bryant met JJ Cortez from Next Models management who asked her to give modeling a try. She dropped out of Yale to pursue a career in modeling.

She went on to be a fashion model in Paris, signing exclusive contracts with Tommy Hilfiger and appeared as a cover subject for Victoria's Secret lingerie catalog. She also worked as a model for Ralph Lauren and Rocawear. She was a part of several other well-known print campaigns at the time. While being a model she took acting classes and says she was lucky to get cast in a movie.

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Career

In 2001, Joy Bryant made her on-screen debut in the MTV original telefilm ‘Carmen: A Hip Hopera’. It also starred Beyonce Knowles and Mekhi Phifer.

In 2002, she acted a small part in the comedy ‘Showtime’. After ‘Showtime’ she got her big break after she was cast in Denzel Washington’s movie ‘Antwone Fisher’. The movie won numerous awards and Bryant’s career got a fillip as a result of it.

In 2003, she got a part in a Jessica Alba movie ‘Honey’. She acted as the best friend of the main character in the film. Later during the year, she co-starred in the movie ‘Baadasssss’ directed by Mario Van Peebles. She also did a recurring guest role in an American medical drama series ‘ER’.

In 2004, she starred in a Carlos Santana and Musiq Soulchild music video for the song "Nothing at All". Her films that were released that year include ‘Spider-Man 2’, ‘Three Way’ and ‘Haven’.

In 2005, she played a role in ‘The Skeleton Key’, a horror movie. She was also cast in ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin'’, where she played the childhood sweetheart of 50 Cent.

In 2006, she co-starred in ‘Bobby’, a story centered around the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

In 2007, she was cast in the thriller film ‘The Hunting Party’ with Richard Gere and Terrence Howard. In 2008 she played a lead role in a comedy series ‘Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins’, starring Martin Lawrence.

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From 2010 to 2015 Bryant played the role of Jasmine Trussell in the series ‘Parenthood’.

In 2011, she was ranked No.19 in the 2011 BuddyTV list of TV's 100 Sexiest Women.

In 2015, she acted guest-starred in the series ‘Rosewood’ followed by another guest-starring role on the HBO series ‘Girls’, in 2017. In 2018, she played a recurring role on the sports drama series ‘Ballers’.

In 2019, she acted as Lori Foster on the web television series ‘Trinkets’.

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Family & Personal Life

In October 2007, Joy Bryant got engaged to stuntman Dave Pope. She met Pope on the sets of ‘Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins’. They married on June 28th, 2008 at a private residence in Amagansett, New York.

She is an ambassador of Oxfam's Sisters on the Planet, an organization that aids women fight hunger, poverty and climate change.

She has also been very public about not wanting to be a mother. She says that her fears of parenthood are derived from her own experiences as the child of a teenage mother.

Joy Bryant has forayed into the clothing business with her husband, developing a brand called Basic Terrain. Basic Terrain is a sportswear brand based in Los Angeles. The idea for a clothing line was formed in the couple’s kitchen while Pope was on the sewing machine trying to recreate a pair of his wife's favorite Thai fisherman pants. The pants now have become the signature design of the brand along with military-inspired jackets, cozy hoodies and relaxed jumpsuits. Basic Terrain can be regarded as comfy wear that looks “cool and effortless”.

As of 2019, Bryant and Pope reside in Los Angeles where Joy takes drum lessons in the morning and manages her business during the day.

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