028: Joy Bryant — PARENTHOOD made the GOOD GIRLS REVOLT

Joy Bryant was born in a modest home in The Bronx, New York and as a young woman, was enrolled in an inner-city outreach organization called "A Better Chance," designed to encourage minority talent. Joy was also blessed with brains as well beauty and remained an excellent student throughout her high school years. As a result, she was awarded a full academic scholarship to Yale University.  

While enrolled as a full-time student at Yale, Joy was discovered by a modeling scout from Next Models Management and subsequently pursued a career as a fashion model in Paris. Her slender yet classic beauty got her an exclusive contract with prestigious brand names such as Tommy Hilfiger and the Victoria's Secret lingerie catalogue.  

Joy's acting debut came about in 2001 in Robert Townsend's Carmen: A Hip Hopera. An MTV production, the film also starred Beyoncé and Mekhi Phifer, along with several hip-hop superstars. After a small role in the Eddie Murphy action comedy Showtime, she made her big breakthrough in Denzel Washington's directorial debut, Antwone Fisher. In 2003, she co-starred with Jessica Alba in Bille Woodruff's romantic drama Honey.  

Most notably, Joy is known for Jasmine on 6 seasons of PARENTHOOD and Amazon's hit show GOOD GIRLS REVOLT.  

Tune in to hear how Joy handled the transition of brains to beauty and what ultimately drew her into acting.