Joanna was born in Catonsville, Maryland on October 31st, 1985. She began acting "professionally" (dinner theatre, mostly) at the age of nine.
She attended high school at Carver Center for the Arts and Technology, studying acting. It was during her senior year that she filmed the independent movie "Camp". She auditioned for every one of her high school shows, but was never cast until her senior year, when she played Linda in "Holiday".
She attended the University of Maryland at College Park, majoring in Theatre Performance with a minor in English, concentrating her studies in Shakespeare. During college, she performed with many student groups, was a member of a comedy group where she wrote and performed sketches and stand up. She wrote a found text play "Bringing it Home", and directed several plays, including "Bus Stop", "Home at Six", and "The Vagina Monologues". During college, she also began working with the Catonsville Children's Theatre company as a director and choreographer. Before her senior year began, she played the bit part of "Dawn" in "New York City Seranade".
Joanna graduated from College Park in May of 2007. As of November, 2007, she is still working with the Children's Theatre as well as teaching drama at Carver Center.
