Born in Philadelphia and raised in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Da'Vine Joy Randolph knew from an early age that she wanted to be a performer. She studied theatre at Interlochen Arts Camp, then achieved a BA in musical theatre studies at Temple University. From there, she went to the Yale School of Drama and in 2011, obtained a master's degree.
Da'Vine Joy auditioned to play an understudy in the Broadway musical Ghost the Musical, but was instead cast in the lead role of Oda Mae Brown. When the actress playing the role in London's West End suffered an injury, Da'Vine Joy was flown to England to cover the role and debuted on the stage on December 15, 2011. She played the role for a month before returning to Broadway. She was back in time for opening night on April 23, 2012. Da'Vine Joy received a 2012 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
In 2013 she made her film debut in the indie film Mother of George, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Other movies followed, as well as guest roles on TV series such as The Good Wife (2013), See Dad Run (2014), This is Us (2016) and Veep (2017).
On the big screen, Da'Vine Joy played Carla in Office Christmas Party (2016), Lady Reed in Dolomite Is My Name (2019) and Beth Hatten in The Lost City (2022) opposite Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum.
In 2021 she landed a recurring role as Detective Donna Williams on the hit Hulu murder mystery series Only Murders in the Building, playing the role through all three seasons to date, with more to come.
In 2023 Da'Vine Joy had a banner year, with roles in the critically acclaimed films Rustin (playing Mahalia Jackson) and The Holdovers (2023), the latter earning a nomination for Best Picture at the 2024 Academy Awards. For her role as Mary Lamb opposite Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy earned her first Golden Globe Award as well as her first Academy Award, in addition to winning at the BAFTA Awards, the Critics Choice Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Filmography:
The Holdovers (2023)
Rustin (2023)
A Little White Lie (2023)
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
On the Come Up (2022)
The Lost City (2022)
The Guilty (2021)
The United States vs Billie Holiday (2021)
Trolls World Tour (2020)
The Last Shift (2020)
Kajillionaire (2020)
Dolomite Is My Name (2019)
Office Christmas Party (2016)
The Secrets of Emily Blair (2016)
Selfie (2014)
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014)
Mother of George (2013)