She’s not the most vocal fame seeker, but Australian-Canadian actress Helene Joy has built an enduring reputation in the Australian and Canadian film industries over the years. Most popular for her roles on Durham County and Murdoch Mysteries Since her debut in the 1990s, Helene has enjoyed a steady rise in her acting career.
To date, Joy has been recognized for outstanding performance with the 2005 Leo Award for Best Leading Role by a Woman in a Feature-Length Drama In A Wrathful Noise , as well as the 2008 Gemini Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Continued Leading Dramatic Role for Durham County. Here is her biography and other interesting facts you need to know about the actress.
Helene Joy Biography
Helene Joy was born on October 27, 1978 in Perth, Australia. Joy holds both Australian and Canadian citizenship. She is the youngest of her siblings and was raised by a single mother who was a real estate agent. She grew up in her homeland, where she attended Kewdale Senior High School.
Helene Joy started acting as a student at Kewdale Senior High. After graduating from high school, she joined a youth theater group on a tour of Europe. Joy then enrolled at Curtin University in Australia to study theater. However, she only spent a year at university when she won a scholarship to the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and graduated in 1995 with a diploma in acting. Upon graduation, Joy won WAAPA’s Leslie Anderson Award for Best Actress.
professional career
Helene Joy began her professional acting career in 1996 with a supporting role in an episode of the adventure television series. The Man from the Snowy River . After that, she received other minor roles in other TV series, including: GP , Water Rats , Big Sky , Stingers and so on.
Joy debuted both her television and film roles in 1997 with Shelley and Helen Desareé’s Fable and The Beneficiary , respectively. She later landed her first starring role on the CBC-TV sitcom, An American in Canada , which ran from 2002-2003.
Helene later gained widespread popularity when she began portraying the lead role of Audrey Sweeney on the television series. Durham County (2007-2010). Durham ‘s exposure opened up more opportunities for Helene. While still appearing on the show, she landed another starring role in the 2008 CBC series MVP as well as in the made-for-TV movie, Thanksgiving Day (2008). During the same period, Joy landed her big television break in the 2008 drama series, Murdoch Mysteries where she played the lead character Dr. Julia Ogden plays.
In addition to her television and film career, Helene Joy is also a stage/theater performer. She has worked for a number of theater companies including the Bell Shakespeare Company and the Melbourne Theater Company, where she portrayed the roles of Ophelia, Lady Macbeth and Juliet in the Shakespearean plays Hamlet , Macbeth , and Romeo and Juliet respectively. She later moved to Canada and joined the Company Theater in Toronto, where she starred in Speaking in Tongues as Jane.
Helene also played speaking roles in a number of films and television series. They include The Eggs (2004), Faireez (2005), The Secret World of Og (2006), Pearlie (2009) and Prisoner (2012).
5 interesting facts you need to know
1. Her boyfriend made her leave Australia
Joy has lived in Australia all her life until her boyfriend, also an actor asked her to join him. Helene therefore left Australia and moved to her boyfriend’s hometown of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. That was about three years into her professional acting career, exactly in 1999. Helene once revealed in an interview that her relationship with the guy turned her life upside down. However, she has since broken ties with the guy.
2. Joy almost stopped trading for real estate
In addition to acting, Helene Joy earns a living more worthwhile by investing in real estate. She is currently a certified real estate agent in her home country of Australia. She also acquires real estate and carries out numerous renovations over the course of her extensive travels in different parts of the world.
Due to her quest for a financially secure future, Helene started considering a few years ago whether she should stop and focus entirely on real estate. She gave it a try and went home to join her mother, but within a week Joy realized that acting is what she is and she has always been committed to it. She now describes real estate development as her greatest passion outside of trading.
3. She loves clothes – and HATS!
Although Helene says that she is not a fashionista,she admits that she loves national costumes – clothes, jewelry, bags, shoes, and then – hats. She once said in an interview that she collects hats and has them “like you wouldn’t believe it”. She’s in love with all types – fedoras, sun hats, wool hats and so on.
Her role in Murdoch Mysteries also informed and influenced her fashion sense, giving it a touch of Victorian modesty – vintage jewellery, high neck blouses and the like – minus the long skirts!
4. Joy is a vegan
Helene Joy eats vegan. Due to her religious attitude to her diet, she has a delicious meat-free burger named after her – the “MissJoy” at the BQM Burger Shoppe on Ossington Riverside in Toronto.
5. Helene Joy is a very reserved and frugal personality
Despite earning a six-figure salary in her acting, Helene Joy is not only making a fortune from real estate, but she’s continuing to live as she did when she had nothing! She’s not the kind of celebrity who would throw herself into outrageous expenses just because she has the money. The actress says she’s saving like a “maniac” to secure a financial future. Her goal is also to be able to continue to operate economically independently of the industry and the country in the future.
Due to her frugal lifestyle, Helene Joy is not a great designer person. She shops at the local markets and doesn’t look for famous labels. Although Helene has worked in the entertainment industry for years, she is not yet in the media headlines due to her almost anonymous way of life, but she does not really care.
