Amanda Joy


Amanda Joy is a Canadian actress, screenwriter, comedian, satirist, and producer. She is best known for co-creating and starring in the City original series Second Jen.

Early life and education

Joy studied vocal music at Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts, before pursuing Contemporary Studies at Ryerson University. Joy's mother is Filipina, and her father is of Chinese descent. Joy starred in her first short film as a child in 2001, under the name Amanda Joy Lim.
While originally training for a career in musical theatre, a high school teacher encouraged her to pursue screenwriting.

Career

Joy achieved recognition in 2016 when her sitcom, Second Jen, premiered on City. 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 as an intentional choice," adding that she wants "kids growing up now to see people who look like them onscreen."
She was featured by FLARE as one of five Canadian women rewriting the rules in their field, telling the magazine she believes "many are leaders despite forces that see as unworthy, as threats, as less than—as other."
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 for the second season of Second Jen, and for Best Comedy Script by the Writers Guild of Canada for the Second Jen episode "Like a Girl."
Along with Globe and Mail journalist, John Semley, Joy is a regular contributor on CBC's q radio show's weekly "Screen Talk" segment. Joy also currently writes for the online satirical news site, The Beaverton, covering topics including: Hollywood whitewashing, online dating, and sexism in journalism.

Influences

Joy credits Radio Free Vestibule as her earliest comic influence.

Personal life

Joy's hobbies include weight-lifting, and playing video games. She is a supporter of the Toronto Blue Jays.