Joy Bryant

Joy Bryant (born October 18, 1974) is an American actress, businesswoman and fashion model. She has appeared in numerous films and television since beginning her acting career in 2001. She has received two NAACP Image Award nominations, and one Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Bryant began her career as a fashion model, appearing in advertisements for Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, and Victoria's Secret. She made her film debut in 2001's Carmen: A Hip Hopera. Bryant had her breakthrough after being cast by Denzel Washington in his biographical drama film Antwone Fisher (2002), in which she played a U.S. Navy sailor. This was followed by a recurring guest role on the NBC series ER. Her subsequent film credits include Spider-Man 2 (2004), the horror film The Skeleton Key and the drama Get Rich or Die Tryin' (both 2005), and the historical drama Bobby (2006). In 2010, Bryant was cast in the role of Jasmine Trussell in the NBC family drama Parenthood, a role she portrayed for the series' entire six seasons before its finale in 2015. She has also appeared on television in guest roles on the series Girls (2017) and Ballers (2018). Early life Bryant was born on October 18, 1974, in the Bronx, New York to Joyce Bryant. She was raised by her grandmother, who helped support her on welfare. She started dancing at age three. Bryant would later reveal that she was conceived from a sexual assault against her mother, who was fifteen years old at the time of her birth, by an older adult male. Bryant stated: "[My mother] gave birth to me, not in love but in shame, after hiding her pregnancy from my grandmother for six months."