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Issa Rae

Acting

Born January 12, 1985 · Los Angeles, California, USA

Also known as Jo-Issa Rae Diop

Biography

JoIssa Rae Diop (born January 12, 1985), known professionally as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, and producer. She achieved recognition as the co-creator, co-writer, and star of the HBO comedy series Insecure (2016–2021), for which she was nominated for multiple Golden Globes Awards and Primetime Emmy Awards. Rae first garnered attention for her work on the YouTube web series Awkward Black Girl (2011–2013). Her 2015 memoir,  The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, became a New York Times bestseller. In 2020, Rae formed the production company Hoorae Media. Rae has also appeared in films, with roles in the drama The Hate U Give (2018), the fantasy comedy Little (2019), the romance The Photograph (2020), the romantic comedy The Lovebirds (2020), the comedy thriller Vengeance(2022), and the comedies Barbie and American Fiction (both 2023). She also had a voice role in the short film Hair Love (2019) and voiced Jess Drew / Spider-Woman in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). In 2018 and 2022, Rae was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world and in 2014 in the Forbes '30 Under 30' list in the entertainment section. She was recognized with the Peabody Trailblazer Award and the Producers Guild of America Visionary Award. Description above from the Wikipedia article Issa Rae, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Awards & recognition

  • Time 100 · 2022
  • Time 100 · 2018
  • OkayAfrica 100 Women · 2017
  • Gracie Awards

Filmography46 titles

Hollywood Black

2024as Self

BoJack Horseman

2014as Dr. Indira (voice)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

2023as Jessica Drew (voice)

Black Mirror

2011as Brandy Friday

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

2026as Honey Queen (voice)

The Hate U Give

2018as April Ofrah

American Fiction

2023as Sintara Golden

Conan

2010as Self - Guest

Insecure

2016as Issa Dee

Hot Ones

2015as Self

Dark City Beneath the Beat

2020Executive Producer, Producer

A Black Lady Sketch Show

2019as Jess

Barbie

2023as Barbie

Saturday Night Live

1975as Self - Host

Gray Matter

2023Executive Producer

Little

2019as April Williams

One of Them Days

2025Producer

Vengeance

2022as Eloise

The Kelly Clarkson Show

2019as Self

Finding Your Roots

2012as Self

The Daily Show

1996as Self

The Photograph

2020as Mae Eames

The Lovebirds

2020as Leilani

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

2015as Self

#BlackAF

2020as Issa Rae

Coastal Elites

2020as Callie Josephson

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

2014as Self

The Hair Tales

as Self

Young Love

2023as Angela Young (voice)

Rap Sh!t

2022Executive Producer, Writer

Roar

2022as Wanda Shepard

The Jennifer Hudson Show

as Self

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Creating the Ultimate Spider-Man Movie

2023as Self

Late Night with Seth Meyers

2014as Self - Guest

Desus & Mero

2019as Self - Illustrious Guest

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

2009as Self - Guest

Insecure: The End

2021as Self

Tamron Hall

2019as Self - Guest

The View

1997as Self

Variety Studio: Actors on Actors

2014as Self

No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski

2025as Self

Sweet Life: Los Angeles

Executive Producer

Sherri

2022as Self - Guest

Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television

as Self

Project Greenlight

as Self

Killing Lazarus

2015Producer