Issa Rae

Actress • YouTuber • Writer • Director

Birth Name: Jo-Issa Rae Diop

Birth Date: January 12, 1985

Age: 40 years old

Birth Place: Los Angeles, California

Awards

Born in Los Angeles in 1985, Jo-Issa Rae Diop lived in Dakar, Senegal for a short time, but was raised in Maryland until sixth grade when her family moved to Los Angeles. Diop attended Stanford, graduating in 2007 with a major in African and African-American Studies.

While in college, she was active in the arts, making music videos and creating a mock reality series called "Dorm Diaries." In 2008, a friend began calling her Issa Rae, and Diop decided that she would use the name for her creative endeavors. After graduation she received a theater fellowship at The Public Theater in New York and began taking film classes.

An article bemoaning the lack of African-American geeks portrayed in media led Rae to create "The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl" (YouTube, 2011-2013). Rae and her friend Tracy Oliver both produced and acted in the first season, which debuted on YouTube in 2011. The overwhelmingly positive response led the two to launch a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $50,000 to fund more episodes of the show.

Rae partnered with Pharrell Williams and premiered the second season of the show on his YouTube channel, iamOther. The show won the Shorty Award for Best Web Show in 2012 and ended its run in February of 2013. In 2015, Rae published a memoir titled "The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl," and in 2016, she starred in and produced the critically acclaimed series "Insecure" (HBO, 2016-).

Issa Rae

Actress • YouTuber • Writer • Director

Birth Name: Jo-Issa Rae Diop

Birth Date: January 12, 1985

Age: 40 years old

Birth Place: Los Angeles, California

Awards

Credits

No Taste Like Home with Antoni PorowskiStream

One of Them DaysStream

The 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

The Number

Young LoveStream

Project Greenlight: A New GenerationStream

Project Greenlight: A New GenerationStream

BarbieStream

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-VerseStream

Gray MatterStream

American FictionStream

The Hair TalesStream

Sherri

The Jennifer Hudson ShowStream

Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha GodStream

Rap Sh!tStream

Rap Sh!tStream

Rap Sh!tStream

RoarStream

VengeanceStream

Insecure: The End

Insecure: The End

ET Canada Weekend

CBS Mornings

Sweet Life: Los AngelesStream

Sweet Life: Los AngelesStream

Coastal ElitesStream

GMA3: What You Need to Know

The PhotographStream

The PhotographStream

The LovebirdsStream

The LovebirdsStream

Dark City Beneath the Beat

The Read With Kid Fury and Crissle

The Kelly Clarkson ShowStream

Tamron HallStream

GMA3: Strahan, Sara & Keke

A Black Lady Sketch ShowStream

Today With Hoda & Jenna

Desus & Mero

LittleStream

Hair Love

Today 3rd Hour

American Woman With Brooke Baldwin

The Hate U GiveStream

Access

Sister Circle

Black Girls Rock!

Live with Kelly and Ryan

The Fusion Feed

Excellence in Black Hollywood: A News One Now Primetime Special

Desus & MeroStream

InsecureStream

InsecureStream

InsecureStream

InsecureStream

The Daily Show with Trevor NoahStream

The Late Show With Stephen ColbertStream

Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter

The Breakfast Club

Hot OnesStream

Variety Studio: Actors on Actors

q

The Breakfast Club Power Hour

Late Night With Seth MeyersStream

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonStream

Take Part Live

The Real

Exhale

The Root 100

Katie

Finding Your RootsStream