Joanna Mahaffy--also known as Ami Emerson--is a working actress and model from Northern California and resides in Beverly Hills, CA. She was born February 10, 1984, in Placerville, CA, to Elisabeth and Dwight Mahaffy. She went to Westmont College, a liberal arts school in Santa Barbara, where she was an international studies major. She played on their soccer team for one year and they won the National Championship that year. The following year she started a competitive snowboard team at Westmont and was a top competitor in boarder-cross and slalom. She was elected to the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Associations board as the female athlete representative, and the following year she earned All-American honors in boarder-cross and slope-style. She attracted the attention of Sierra Nevada College, which offered her a snowboarding scholarship. Shortly after the next season started she severely blew out her knee which led to three surgeries.
Joanna has always been an athlete who was blessed with awesome genes and fast-twitch muscles. She spent ten years of her life living, eating and breathing gymnastics. Her crowning achievements were first place all-around in her zone in level six and second place in the state on beam.She played water polo, powder-puff football, basketball, and volleyball, ran track and cross-country and swam on the swimming team. She also earned the Physical Education department's student of the year award her junior year and the Scholar-Athlete award her senior year. She still dances and tumbles and loves to be upside down. She has studied Latin, swing and ballroom dance as well as hip-hop ballet and jazz, among other things. She earned her History Department's student of the year award her senior year. She was the Vice President of the National Honor Society and the treasurer of her school's California Scholastic Federation. She was also a member of my school's French club and Social Action club. At church she sang in the choir and for the church rock band. She performed in her church's short dramas, musicals and plays. She was also a singer in her friend's rock band, Propaganda, for a few shows. Joanna loves road trips and skating new spots. She loves that lifestyle and felt that she finally met her people when she became a part of the shredder community. She hopes to go skydiving one day. She is a rock climber and a certified scuba diver. She mountain bikes and goes backpacking in the wilderness. Other than sports Joanna enjoys performance art, film, graffiti, sculpture and fashion. She looks forward to landing new roles that allow her to display how diverse of an actress she can be. She prefers to do her own stunts and comic relief. She can play a series of characters from the tomboy girl-next-door as well as the glamorous diva. She an incredible scream that has landed her various roles in horror films.
