Cast of TV Series 'Insecure'

Lisa Joyce | Biography

Began her acting career in the 2006 TV series 'Kidnapped'

• By Yunil Tamrakar
• Update : February 14, 2022

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Lisa Joyce is an actress well-known for appearing in the TV series Insecure.

Who is Lisa Joyce?

Lisa Joyce is an American theatre and movie actress. She began her acting career in the 2006 TV series Kidnapped, appearing for one episode as Lisa Cantrell. The same year, the actress was also nominated for a 'Joseph Jefferson Award' for her performance in Adam Rapp's play Red Light Winter, which premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

From 2008 to 2009, Joyce appeared in three TV series, Fringe (2008), The Unusuals (2009), Law & Order (2008-2009), and, Boardwalk Empire (2010). Simultaneously, she acted on theater plays and performed on Love, Loss, and What I Wore (2009) and Beast (2008).

In the following years, Joyce appeared in minor roles in several TV shows and movies before being featured in the leading role of Billie Smith in the TV series Billy & Billie. She played the role for all 11 episodes from 2015 to 2016.

After that, Joyce landed her breakthrough role in the TV show Insecure in 2016. She portrayed the character, Frieda, appearing in 19 episodes until 2021.

Joyce's most recent television appearance was in the series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2022. However, she first appeared in the show in 2007.

Also Read: Ryan Buggle - Law & Order, Age, Parents, Bio, Family

Where is Lisa Joyce From?

Lisa Joyce was born and raised in Chicago. However, there is no clue about her date of birth and age. She earned her bachelor's degree in fine arts from DePaul University's Theatre School. 

Joyce is grateful for the lessons and training she got. “My training at the Theater School introduced me to a lot of different acting techniques, but didn’t strictly advocate for one over the other. Basically, they gave me a variety of tools and then let me choose which ones worked best for me,” she told Refinery 29.

Theater Works

Joyce made her West End/Broadway debut in La Bete and toured nationally with Cherry Jones in the 'Tony Award-winning' Doubt. However, the actress made her breakthrough performance in Jonathan Demme's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's classic play, The Master Builder. She played the role of Hilde opposite Shawn Wallace. In an interview with DuJour, Joyce mentioned she didn't have to audition and was selected after meeting Andre Gregory.

"One thing that's so amazing about Andre is that he doesn't audition his actors; he just meets with them for tea. Two different casting directors had mentioned me to him, so I met him for tea and we talked for like half an hour, a little bit about the play and his adaptation, which is different from the original, and also about where I was in my life—what my background was, what my family was like." She said. "It was just a really lovely, personable tea, and then the next day he sent me an email asking, "Would you like to do it?" and I was like, "Absolutely."

Moreover, Joyce has also appeared in off-Broadway productions such as Red Light Winter (2006), Beast (2008), Love, Loss, and What I Wore (2009), House for Sale by Jonathan Franzen (2012), The Mound Builders (2013), Our New Girl (2014), Nassim (2018), and more.

Joyce has performed at The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Classic Stage Company, Transport Group, and The Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C.

'Insecure'

Joyce was featured in HBO's TV series Insecure as Frieda. Insecure comprises five seasons and follows a modern-day African-American woman's awkward experiences and racy tribulations. She played the role from 2016 to 2021 and appeared in 19 episodes. 

Joyce knew she had something special on her hands as soon as she read the pilot script for Insecure. She was primarily a theater actor in New York at the time, with a few TV roles under her name. Nonetheless, Insecure was a major turning point because she had only small appearances in most TV shows.

The way Issa talks–and raps–to herself in the mirror is one of the most memorable aspects of her character on Insecure. Joyce has acknowledged doing the same thing but without the rapping. 

When asked if she also talks in front of the mirror, she said, “For sure. It’s not something I would ever want someone to walk in on… Even as an actor just auditioning you have to prove yourself, so there is an element of privately building yourself up before you go out into the world, little pep talks.”

Husband

Joyce got married to her husband, Baz Hatfield, after getting engaged in 2014. 

However, there is not much information about the couple's relationship, as Joyce prefers to keep her personal life private.