Issa Rae

Issa Rae
Born	Jo-Issa Rae Diop 12 1, 1985
Birthplace	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actress, writer, producer
Known for	Insecure, Awkward Black Girl
Education	Stanford University (BA)
Spouse(s)	Louis Diame
Awards	Peabody Trailblazer Award, Producers Guild of America Visionary Award
Website	[[issarae.com issarae.com] Official site]

Jo-Issa Rae Diop (born January 12, 1985), known professionally as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, and producer. Born in Los Angeles and raised between there and Potomac, Maryland, Rae emerged from the YouTube landscape of the early 2010s to become one of the most prominent creative voices in American television and film. She first attracted attention as the creator and star of the web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl (2011–2013), a comedic exploration of the social anxieties of a young Black woman that resonated with audiences underserved by mainstream media. Building on that success, she co-created, co-wrote, and starred in the HBO comedy series Insecure (2016–2021), which earned her multiple Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Beyond television, Rae has appeared in a range of feature films including The Hate U Give (2018), Little (2019), The Photograph (2020), Barbie (2023), and American Fiction (2023). She also voiced Spider-Woman in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). Her 2015 memoir, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, became a New York Times bestseller. In 2020, she founded the production company Hoorae Media. Rae was named to the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world in both 2018 and 2022.

Early Life

Issa Rae was born Jo-Issa Rae Diop on January 12, 1985, in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Abdoulaye Diop, is a Senegalese-born pediatrician and neonatologist, and her mother, Delyna Diop (née Hayward), is from Louisiana. Her name, "Issa," derives from a Senegalese name. Rae's multicultural heritage — her father's West African background and her mother's African-American roots — would later inform much of her creative work, particularly its exploration of Black identity in America.

Rae spent part of her childhood in Potomac, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., before her family relocated back to Los Angeles when she was in middle school. The transition between these two environments — one a predominantly white suburban enclave on the East Coast, the other a more diverse but socially stratified setting in South Los Angeles — shaped her understanding of race, class, and belonging. In interviews, she has spoken about feeling caught between different cultural expectations, an experience that would become central to both her web series and her HBO show.

Growing up in the South Los Angeles neighborhood of View Park-Windsor Hills, Rae attended a predominantly Black high school, which she has described as a formative contrast to her earlier experiences in Maryland. These dual experiences of navigating different social environments, and the often awkward negotiations they entailed, became the emotional foundation of her creative output.

Rae has credited her upbringing with giving her a particular sensitivity to the nuances of Black life that are often overlooked or flattened in mainstream media. Her parents' eventual separation also affected her family life during her formative years. Despite these challenges, she pursued creative interests from an early age, writing and producing short skits and videos with friends during her teenage years.

Education

Rae attended Stanford University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. While at Stanford, she became involved in theater and began developing her skills as a writer and performer. She has noted that the university environment, while intellectually stimulating, also underscored her feelings of being a cultural outsider — a theme she would later mine extensively in her work.

During her time at Stanford, Rae created a mock reality series called Dorm Diaries, which followed the lives of Black students on campus. The project represented an early iteration of her interest in documenting everyday Black experiences with humor and authenticity. After graduating, rather than pursuing a traditional path in entertainment through talent agencies or acting schools, Rae turned to the internet as a platform for her creative work, a decision that proved pivotal to her career trajectory.

Career

Web Series and Early Work (2011–2015)

Rae's career breakthrough came with the YouTube web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, which she created, wrote, produced, and starred in beginning in 2011. The series followed J, a socially awkward Black woman navigating the mundane frustrations of her workplace and romantic life. With its low-budget production values but sharp writing and relatable humor, the show filled a niche that mainstream television had largely ignored — stories about young Black women that were neither heavy-handed nor stereotypical.

The series quickly gained traction online. To fund its first season, Rae launched a Kickstarter campaign that exceeded its fundraising goal, demonstrating the appetite among audiences for the type of content she was producing. Awkward Black Girl ran for two seasons through 2013 and won a Shorty Award for Best Web Show. The series drew attention from industry figures and media outlets alike, establishing Rae as a new voice in comedy.

The success of the web series led to a book deal. In 2015, Rae published her memoir, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, a collection of essays exploring her experiences with race, gender, and identity. The book became a New York Times bestseller and further raised her profile. A profile in Chicago magazine in February 2015 featured a conversation between Rae and writer Samantha Irby, highlighting both creators' comedic explorations of the everyday indignities of modern life.

In 2014, Forbes included Rae on its annual "30 Under 30" list in the entertainment category, recognizing her impact as a digital content creator who had effectively bypassed traditional Hollywood gatekeepers.

During this period, Rae also began developing television projects. She partnered with Larry Wilmore to develop a comedy series for HBO, a collaboration that would evolve into Insecure.

Insecure and Television Stardom (2016–2021)

In October 2016, HBO premiered Insecure, a half-hour comedy series co-created by Rae and Larry Wilmore. Rae served as co-writer, executive producer, and star of the show, playing Issa Dee, a young Black woman in Los Angeles navigating the complexities of friendship, romance, and professional ambition. The show was loosely inspired by Awkward Black Girl but with a broader scope and higher production values afforded by the HBO platform.

Insecure premiered to strong critical reviews and rapidly developed a devoted audience. The show was praised for its authentic portrayal of Black life in Los Angeles, its exploration of female friendship (particularly the central relationship between Issa and her best friend Molly, played by Yvonne Orji), and its honest treatment of romantic relationships. The series also drew attention for its use of Los Angeles locations, particularly neighborhoods in South L.A. like Inglewood and Leimert Park, bringing visibility to parts of the city rarely seen on television.

The show received widespread critical acclaim and earned numerous award nominations. Rae received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy and multiple Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Insecure also received a Peabody Award. The American Film Institute recognized Insecure as one of the top television programs of 2017.

Over its five-season run, Insecure became a cultural touchstone. The series addressed topics including gentrification, colorism, workplace microaggressions, and the evolving dynamics of adult friendships with a specificity and humor that resonated with audiences. The show's final season aired in 2021, concluding the story arc with an ending that drew significant discussion among fans and critics.

During the production of Insecure, Rae also became an influential voice in conversations about representation in Hollywood. At the 2017 Television Critics Association press tour, she and other actors and producers of color spoke publicly about the struggles they faced in an industry slow to diversify. An article on IndieWire's Women and Hollywood blog examined the question of whether networks and audiences would accept women of color as leads in their own stories, using Rae's HBO deal as a case study.

Film Career

Concurrent with her television work, Rae built a substantial film career. In 2018, she appeared in The Hate U Give, a drama based on Angie Thomas's novel about a young Black woman who witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood friend by a police officer. Rae played April Ofrah, a community activist.

In 2019, Rae starred opposite Regina Hall and Marsai Martin in the fantasy comedy Little, playing the adult version of a tyrannical tech mogul who is magically transformed into her younger self. That same year, she provided a voice role in the animated short film Hair Love, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 92nd Academy Awards.

In 2020, Rae starred in two romantic films released within months of each other: The Photograph, a drama co-starring LaKeith Stanfield, and The Lovebirds, a romantic comedy co-starring Kumail Nanjiani. The Photograph was notable as a Black-led romantic drama in a theatrical landscape where such films had become increasingly rare.

In 2022, Rae appeared in Vengeance, a comedy thriller written and directed by B. J. Novak. Her role in the film further demonstrated her range as a performer capable of operating across genres.

The year 2023 proved particularly prolific for Rae's film career. She appeared in Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, playing one of several versions of the titular doll in the ensemble cast. She also appeared in American Fiction, a comedy-drama based on Percival Everett's novel Erasure, which received significant awards-season attention. Additionally, she voiced Jess Drew / Spider-Woman in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the animated sequel to the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Hoorae Media and Producing

In 2020, Rae founded Hoorae Media, a multifaceted media company encompassing film, television, and digital content production. The company also includes the audio division Raedio, which focuses on podcasts and music supervision. Through Hoorae Media, Rae has expanded her role from in-front-of-camera talent to behind-the-scenes producer and executive, developing projects by and about creators from underrepresented communities.

Rae's producing ambitions took a significant step forward in January 2026, when she signed a multiyear first-look producing deal with Paramount, covering both film and television development. The deal, reported by both The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline Hollywood, positioned Rae as one of the prominent creative talents brought into the fold by the David Ellison–led Paramount. At the time of the deal, Rae had accumulated nine Emmy nominations across her career.

In early 2026, Rae described her current career focus in terms of creative fulfillment, telling People magazine that she was concentrated on "what fulfills me" and that "the possibilities are endless" for the next chapter in her career.

Personal Life

Rae married businessman Louis Diame. The couple's relationship was first publicly acknowledged in 2019 when Rae posted a photograph on Instagram captioned in a way that confirmed their engagement.

Rae has generally maintained a boundary between her public and private life, discussing her personal relationships only sparingly in interviews. In February 2026, she told People that she had spent Valentine's Day screenwriting rather than on a traditional romantic outing, but noted that her husband "was very understanding" about her work schedule.

Rae's father is of Senegalese descent, and she has spoken publicly about her connection to Senegalese culture and her multiethnic background. In a November 2025 interview with CNBC, Rae spoke candidly about the gap between external perceptions of success and internal feelings of stagnation, noting that despite her accomplishments, she sometimes felt "really stagnant" even though she appeared successful on the outside.

Recognition

Rae has received numerous accolades throughout her career. For her work on Insecure, she received multiple Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, as well as Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. By 2026, she had accumulated a total of nine Emmy nominations across various categories.

Insecure itself received a Peabody Award, recognizing the series for its contribution to electronic media. The show was also named one of the top television programs of 2017 by the American Film Institute.

Rae received the Peabody Trailblazer Award and the Producers Guild of America Visionary Award, both of which recognized her broader contributions to the entertainment industry beyond any single project.

Time magazine included Rae on its annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world in both 2018 and 2022. In 2014, Forbes had named her to its "30 Under 30" list in the entertainment category.

In 2015, Rae appeared on the cover of Essence magazine alongside Shonda Rhimes, Ava DuVernay, Debbie Allen, and Mara Brock Akil, a cover that was widely discussed as a symbol of the growing influence of Black women in the entertainment industry.

Legacy

Issa Rae's career trajectory — from self-funded YouTube creator to Emmy-nominated HBO showrunner and film star — has been cited as an example of how digital platforms can serve as launching pads for talent outside of traditional Hollywood pathways. Her decision to create Awkward Black Girl on YouTube, at a time when web series were not commonly treated as legitimate stepping stones to mainstream success, demonstrated the viability of building an audience independently before transitioning to established networks and studios.

Insecure is frequently discussed alongside other series of its era, such as Atlanta and Black-ish, as part of a wave of television programming in the mid-to-late 2010s that expanded the range of Black stories told on screen. The show's emphasis on the interior lives of its characters, its avoidance of trauma-centered narratives, and its focus on friendship and personal growth distinguished it within the landscape of prestige television.

Through Hoorae Media, Rae has sought to create institutional infrastructure for diverse storytelling, moving beyond her individual creative projects to build a company that can develop and support the work of other creators. Her 2026 first-look deal with Paramount represents a continuation of this ambition, positioning her as both a creative talent and a producer with the capacity to greenlight and champion new voices.

Rae's influence extends to conversations about the economics and structure of the entertainment industry. Her public discussions about feeling stagnant despite outward success, and her advocacy for creative independence, have contributed to broader discourse about what sustainable careers look like for creators of color in Hollywood.