Joelle is an actress, singer-songwriter and filmmaker, born into unusual circumstances that gifted her with the ability to tell the most sincere and genuine stories through her creations.
After being given a zero percent chance of survival at birth and having no hair since the tender age of 8 (as a result of alopecia), she fought through her early life with music as a savior. Joelle believes that, even if the odds are against you, they should not have to define your fate.
Singing as a tiny toddler, she began entertaining her family with a games console microphone, eventually writing her own lyrics and poems. During primary school, she developed a painfully shy demeanor due to her classmates’ reaction to her looks. The ravages of bullying, which she endured daily at school and in public due to her appearance, led to her becoming almost mute among her peers. Eventually she broke out of her shell with the unconditional love and support of her family. Her road to music and filmmaking began as a family project with the creation of the mini-viral music video, Big In LA, filmed while on vacation in Los Angeles when she was 13.
Her music video received an outpouring of praise from the public and became a pivotal moment in Joelle's life as a teen, winning several film festival awards. Soon after, she decided to hone her skills, engaging in vocal training in Atlanta, Georgia with Peggy Still Johnson and later was stage trained in London, England by former director of the London Community Gospel Choir, Daniel Thomas.
Joelle sees creative vision everywhere. Her stories are the product of an unusual youth, a journey full of miracle, joy, and pain, the seeds needed for relating the most difficult narratives in song and on screen. At the age of 19, after achieving the highest grade attainable at film school, Joelle directed her first film, Cover Up, featuring exclusive recordings with music and lyrics created by Diane Warren, performed by Joelle.
Her performance style has been described as unforgettably genuine and unique.
At the age of 15, Joelle was appointed Young Person's Ambassador for the charity Alopecia UK. As part of her ambassadorial role, she meets children, parents, family members, and friends at support groups and events, giving advice and sharing insights from her journey. She has also conducted bullying prevention talks with thousands of children in America.
Joelle encourages others to have a different attitude towards having no hair, to understand a different view that hair is an accessory, not a necessity. She fulfills one of her greatest desires: spreading the message that it is more than ok to have no hair -- it is something to be proud of. Her positive outlook empowers many people to embrace and celebrate who they are, with or without hair.
Joelle previously stated on the UK's BBC "I don't wear make-up to feel secure. I wear make-up to make society feel secure, and that's why sometimes I don't wear make-up..."
She now reflects, "It was not until later that I realised that I was not protecting myself all these years, but other people, from what they didn't understand. I realised that I was only able to embrace my alopecia because people were embracing my hiding it, even though they didn't know it at the time and neither did I."
One of Joelle's most inspiring characteristics is her consistent view of the future: "The world has changed so much in a decade. Alopecia represents just one part of life's progressively growing melting pot of amazing qualities to be found in people. Millions have learned acceptance of others. Because we are all different in so many interesting ways, we have the opportunity to celebrate our differences and grow a greater sense of understanding, which connects us all. We can all feel pain. We can all feel joy. We are people with a future to understand each other together and not alone."
