Today we’d like to introduce you to Joy Kennelly.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Joy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up living on the beach in Manhattan Beach as a second-generation native, the eldest daughter of three girls named Joy, Grace, and Glori. I always tease my parents were beach hippies because of our names, and because we raised rabbits similar to the Flint MI family in Michael Moore’s doc (Roger & Me), had a compost pile and numerous fruit trees in the backyard, recycled paper, and had solar panels long before being eco was fashionable.
My Dad wasn’t doing it for sustainable reasons, but because he was trying to save money. This enabled him to buy real estate and we grew up cleaning and painting his rentals as a way of life. We also moved a lot growing up and traveled extensively overseas.
Hawthorne isn’t a city I ever imagined I’d live in because I’ve lived in Manhattan, Hermosa, Santa Monica, Torrance, Hollywood, West Hollywood, San Pedro, house sat in other local cities. I’ve also lived in New York, Seattle, Las Vegas and overseas too, but the desire to live in a bigger space than the matchbox places available for the same amount of money in other Los Angeles cities was stronger than living beyond my means. It’s been humbling and eye-opening because oftentimes I’m in the minority and it’s taught me a lot of my own biases and prejudices based on my caucasian middle-class perspectives.
I experienced this initially when our family moved to Kenya, Africa in the 7th grade where my Dad taught at a missionary boarding school called Rift Valley Academy. We went to school for three months, then would travel around Africa for a month, then go back to school, then travel again. My parents were very adventurous and we would visit missionaries living in remote villages where we were often the minority and it was a wonderful life-changing experience that has shaped my entire life.
I’ll never forget sitting around our luggage with my sisters outside while my parents negotiated our room for the night inside the hotel and becoming surrounded by village kids who were so fascinated by us because they’d rarely seen any white people in Monkey Bay, Malawi back in the 70’s. We mugged, pantomimed and goofed around to make them laugh and had a great time making friends. We traveled on the buses with Africans rather than in taxis and many were fascinated by my skin because they’d never seen freckles before and thought it was a disease. Growing up in tan California, oftentimes I felt that way too due to rarely seeing others with freckles outside my family!
As an adult, I used a car settlement to travel back to Africa with an African friend from college and we visited Burkina Faso where French is the official language. We were writing a screenplay together and met with the leaders of FESPACO (Festival Panafrican du Cinema et de la Television de Ouagadougou) and actually sang before them. I became very ill and my friend decided I should experience the racism she’d experienced living in the states which made the duration of our trip miserable. The kindness of strangers who didn’t even speak English was the saving grace and a fond memory.
I will never forget walking onto the plane to fly back to America and not seeing any white faces at all and experiencing for the first time ever what every minority has felt at one time or another because all I wanted to see was one person who looked like me and spoke my language. That’s why I’ve always stood up for diversity, equality and wanting everyone to be equally represented in the media and in industries that are predominantly white because of that experience years ago.
It’s also shaped my life in other ways because I always included minority filmmakers in my film festival I ran for five years to help level the playing field. It makes me very happy to see more minorities reflected on TV shows, film and streaming platforms and especially to see Tyler Perry achieve his studio dreams and Sandra Oh, as the first Asian to host the Golden Globes because I feel when people see themselves reflected in society they have more pride, more self-respect, and more validation of who they are and realize they’re not alone.
I’ve advocated for that my entire life.
It’s why, when I became a female founder in the tech scene I campaigned for more funding for females due to the horrific stat of only 4% of females ever receiving funding which unfortunately wasn’t revealed publicly for years. And minorities receive even less funding. It’s why I left the tech industry after 4 years despite really loving being on the cutting edge of what is happening and covering numerous high profile tech conferences as a journalist while building my startup.
When my Mom died suddenly of a massive stroke in 2016 I re-evaluated my entire life and realized hitting my head against the gender bias of this industry wasn’t ever going to change until the leadership of white male VC’s that make investment decisions across the nation realized and changed their investment strategy based on the established facts that far more female-run startups/companies are more successful and make more money and rather than continue to throw money at so many young, inexperienced white males with little successful ROI.
Closing my travel startup and leaving the tech industry was a tough decision to make, however, despite leaving this industry three years ago, the appalling stat of 4% of female founders being funded hasn’t moved.
One Iota.
And it’s why I still rail against that unconscious gender and racial bias in the tech industry and why I continue to share successful minority and female founders’ stories, funding and other business accomplishments despite not participating as fully as before because I believe so strongly in changing the status quo, even though from the outside now.
I have also had to overcome a lot of bitterness and resentment towards the men in the tech industry and the industry in general, because after my Mom died, I lost my apartment due to lack of funding, shut down my travel startup despite being passionate about it and devoting 4 years of my life and my entire inheritance to building it.
From September 2017 – November 2017 I traveled, staying with old friends from my Montana Wilderness Bible College in the Pacific Northwest and Montana until I ran out of places to visit and stayed overnight in my car, spent a week at a women’s shelter in Wilmington, CA and eventually was placed in an apartment with African American women who had lived on the streets, one an addict and the other, an incredibly bitter racist. I’ve never in my entire life met someone so consumed with hatred against me simply for the color of my skin and again, it’s another experience that has shaped my life.
Also, being homeless, despite loving friends who took me in for the majority of that time in my life, taught me what others living without a safety net experience and has given me a deeper empathy and compassion for those living on the streets that shamefully, despite my Christian upbringing, I hadn’t had prior. It’s also why I advocate so strongly for those who are homeless because as I rebuild my life, I know many others don’t have the support I did and need help. It’s also why I remain close friends with my former roommate to encourage and support her as she moves into a safer, less toxic and better living situation and a renewed relationship with her family.
All this to say, I believe having such varied experiences in life has enabled me to become a better writer, a better actress, and a better person. It’s also brought to life these verses from the Bible in greater detail: Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
My current profession is acting although prior to building my travel startup I ran a successful solo PR & Digital Marketing firm for ten years. I am passionate about helping people achieve their goals and aspirations which I did as a personal publicist for a celebrity, a fine artist and numerous actors and small business owners.
Writing is also a big passion of mine and I’m a published journalist and blogger. I’ve also written for such organizations as the American Institute of Architects, the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau, and others. I have a minor in journalism and have taken numerous writing seminars as well.
For many years, I ran an empowerment group for women called Goal Gals where we would establish a goal we wanted to achieve in three months, meet bi-monthly to share our struggles and successes and the majority of the women went on to build successful new careers, travel and finish something they hadn’t been able to without the group’s support. I still enjoy teaching women how to set goals and may start another group soon if there’s enough interest.
I’m currently focused on furthering my professional acting career and to that end, I’ve taken commercial classes with Mike Pointer of Hey! I Saw Your Commercial, Improv classes at The Groundlings, and received on-camera and acting coaching from industry professionals which have been very helpful.
I’ve appeared in music videos with Kiefer Sutherland, Tyga, Noel Schjaris and Travis due to my expressive face and joyful approach to life, and also in TV, film, commercials, and new media productions in both Atlanta and Los Angeles. A big talker in real life, my goal is to have a speaking role rather than just play the token busty blonde in a sea of brunettes.
My laugh is so unique and infectious it’s been used on a laugh track. My comedic sensibility is based on my world view, varied life experiences, soaking up other comedians stand up, and wide reading. My sense of humor is light-hearted, witty, and intelligent with a pulse on pop culture and politics. Consider me a cross between Melissa McCarthy and Joan Rivers, only a little taller, and not as Jewish.
I’ve also produced and hosted numerous travel videos covering Las Vegas, Santa Monica and Atlanta, with my biggest career highlight interviewing Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS. As a former professional publicist, I understand how to market myself and others utilizing marketing newsletters, blogs, Twitter and other social media platforms, produce and edit videos, and build websites for people. I also know a lot of people in the entertainment industry having produced numerous film festivals and events; as a result, I understand the world of entertainment from many different levels.
I love producing events and writing which I would love to do more for people because it’s so creative and utilizes different parts of my brain. Plus, there’s a lot of downtime on sets that provide opportunities to work on other projects. Speaking of which, I’m very excited about participating in a major feature film with huge stars which I start tomorrow and will hopefully lead to bigger acting opportunities. I’m under an NDA, but once it comes out I will definitely be promoting it!
It’s a proven psychological fact that helping others is more satisfying than only helping yourself which is why I’d love to work with you to help you achieve your goals whether it be in acting, or building your small business. My public relations, event producing and writing background, combined with self-development training I’ve taken and books I’ve read give me a unique perspective and ability to market whatever I believe strongly to success.
Let’s work together!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Growing up living on the strand in Manhattan Beach and sleeping in the living room once where I could see the moon glistening on the ocean. I’ve never forgotten the beauty of that still, quiet, personal moment in time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://joykennellyactress.wixsite.com/hello
- Phone: 310-483-6441
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyakennelly/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoyKennelly/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thejoywriterx2
- Yelp: https://thejoywriter.weebly.com/
- Other: https://joykennelly.contently.com/
Image Credit:
Clinton H. Wallace
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