Ella Joyce

The daughter of an autoworker and a hairdresser, Joyce was born Cherron Hoye in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She graduated from the Performing Arts Curriculum at Cass Technical High School, and went on to attend the Dramatic Arts program at Eastern Michigan University. When financial problems caused her to leave, she returned to Detroit, where she graduated from a business school and then worked as an executive secretary at General Motors. She supplemented the income from that job by reading scripts for director Lloyd Richards, who encouraged her to act on-screen. After she moved to Harlem, New York City, she worked as a word processor while she improved her acting skills. After she earned her first film credit in 1979, she changed her name to honor her mother and great-grandmother. She has studied with several professional mentors, and worked in many regional theaters across America and overseas.