Joy Sunday
Joy Sunday | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1996 or 1997 (age 29–30)[1] Staten Island, New York, US |
| Education | University of Southern California (BA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2014–present |
Joy Sunday (born 1996 or 1997)[2] is a Nigerian-American actress. She has performed in television notably in Dear White People and Wednesday. In film, she is known for side roles in Bad Hair, Shithouse, and Dog.
Early life and education
[edit | edit source]Sunday was born in Staten Island, New York, to Nigerian parents.[2] Her mother worked as a nurse’s assistant and her father was a social worker.[3]
Sunday is a graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in New York City, where she studied theater. Sunday states that her time at LaGuardia discouraged her from acting, as "conservatories aren't always kind to Black and Brown actors [or] to poor actors." She chose to pursue filmmaking instead and enrolled at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.[4] There she studied at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and earned a degree in critical studies.[5]
Outside of academia, she worked as a filmmaker with Tribeca Film Institute on the side, working on several shorts.[6]
Career
[edit | edit source]Sunday made her television debut in an episode of MacGyver in 2018, where she appeared in one episode. She joined the Screen Actors Guild in 2020 with her performance in Bad Hair.[7] She had a side role as Sophia in Cooper Raiff's 2020 directorial debut film Shithouse.[8] She had an appearance in one episode of the Netflix series Dear White People.[9] Sunday followed that up with side roles in the film The Beta Test and Dog.[10]
Her breakout role came in 2022 in the Netflix series Wednesday, produced by Tim Burton. She portrays siren Bianca Barclay, the rival to the titular character, Wednesday Addams. She stars alongside Jenna Ortega, Emma Myers, Hunter Doohan, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzmán, and Gwendoline Christie. The show opened to rave reviews and became the most viewed English language series on Netflix.[11][12]
In 2024, Sunday became a global ambassador for the cosmetics house Lancôme.[13] In 2025, she joined the HBO limited dark comedy series DTF St. Louis, alongside Jason Bateman, David Harbour, Linda Cardellini, Richard Jenkins, and Chris Perfetti.[14][15]
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Sunday credits Nigerian actors Genevieve Nnaji and Nkem Owoh as her childhood inspiration in the film industry.[4]
Filmography
[edit | edit source]Film
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Embody | Sasha | |
| 2017 | Darling | Director | |
| 2018 | Joy | Joy | |
| Alive Again | Sage | ||
| 2019 | Her Mind in Pieces | Joy | |
| 2020 | Bad Hair | Cynthia | |
| Shithouse | Sophia | ||
| Take my Heart | Mac | ||
| Limelight | Didienne | ||
| 2021 | The Beta Test | Celia | |
| 2022 | Dog | Dr. Gray | |
| 2023 | Rise | Rayowa |
Television
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | MacGyver | Abina | Episode: "Scavengers + Hard Drive + Dragonfly" |
| Yas Kween | Ria | 5 episodes | |
| 2021 | Dear White People | Claire | Episode: "Volume 4: Chapter VII" |
| 2022–present | Wednesday | Bianca Barclay | Main role |
| TBA | DTF St. Louis | Jodie | In post-production |
References
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