Joy studied vocal music at Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts, before pursuing Contemporary Studies at Ryerson University. Joy identifies as Filipina, though her father is of Chinese descent. Joy starred in her first short film as a child in 2001, under the name Amanda Joy Lim.
Joy achieved recognition in 2016 when her sitcom, Second Jen, premiered on City. Joy has professed her Desire to combat the invisibility and misrepresentation of Filipinos in western media. She has also been outspoken about the need for more diversity on TV, telling interviewers that she would “like to stop seeing [diversity] as an intentional choice," adding that she wants "kids growing up now to see people who look like them onscreen."
In February 2017, Joy was nominated for a WGC award for Second Jen's pilot script "Couch Surfing."
