JOY KENDI

JOY KENDI, 22

ACTRESS
Why she is a woman to watch: Better known as Patricia in the Kalasha award-winning TV show Changing Times, the youthful Joy is creating a buzz, especially among the youth. She has looks, talent and passion, and we know it will be just a matter of time before she’s the next big thing. Watch this space!
I am very down to earth. I know I don’t look like it but I am very easy to work with. When people first meet me, they expect me to be bitchy but I am not. I was born in Kenya but I moved to the United States when I was seven. I only came back to Kenya two years ago. That explains my accent!
I started acting about a year and a half ago. I was just lazing at home when a friend called and suggested that I audition for Changing Times. Acting was not something I had ever thought of getting into but I got the role of Patricia, a mean girl who also has a good side to her. She is a fun character to act.
When I’m not acting, I attend classes at USIU, where I am taking a major in psychology and a minor in philosophy. Other than that I dabble in fashion and design. I recently opened a fashion blog which basically looks at Kenyan fashion be it street, vintage or even traditional fashion. I am a fairly decent writer too. Juggling classes, blogging and acting is a lot but I manage. I believe that when you love doing something, you can find a way to do it all.
The interesting thing about being an actress is the ability to be someone else. I wake up in the morning as Joy and
later step into my character as Patricia, I get a chance to live two lives and I am paid for it! Acting the emotional scenes is a bit of a challenge. I find it hard to fake-cry.
It is possible but it is hard to live only on acting. It’s not like roles happen every single day. You can’t do many roles as it would really take up a lot of time and you would end up not executing them properly. Kenya is not like the US where one can make a hundred dollars just from acting. I think it is smarter to have a side gig.
My mum is very supportive of whatever I do as long as it doesn’t affect my studies negatively. My sister has also been my champion, pushing me to follow my dreams. The only opposition came from me! In the beginning, I was so horrible but with time I started having fun.
The Kenyan TV and movie industry is growing. People are getting more interested in investing in film and TV and the audience is also becoming more receptive. I would say as Kenyans, we are less prudish and can now watch shows with more westernised themes. It has become easier to talk about sex and HIV, as Shuga has proved.
To be a successful actress you must have discipline and passion. Discipline keeps you focused on your goals while passion drives you to achieve them. If you have no passion for something, then you have no business doing it.
I would have loved to act in Sex and the City. It was a fabulous show and managed to combine my two passions, fashion and acting. I would also love to act a character with some kind of mental disorder, nothing extreme though, maybe something like bipolar, schizophrenia or multiple personality disorders. I think such a character would be interesting.
I have never seen myself as a celeb and I find it awkward when people consider me as one. I think you are a celeb when you get to where Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson are. If you can still walk in the streets, you are not a celeb.
Three rules if you want to get into acting: Audition, audition, audition! Try to audition as many times and for as many productions as possible. You never know which doors will open if you don’t go knocking.
Other than fashion, shopping helps me unwind. I don’t shop in the big shops though, I mostly shop in flea markets like Toi or Ngara. I love buying vintage and then altering them to fit my style. As for travel, I am not that into nature but I love cities. If I had to choose one destination, then it would have to be New York because the fashion there is just amazing.
In the future, I want to act and design full time. I would love to be a fashion editor for a magazine like Vogue or Bazaar.
I have been dating someone for a while but I don’t plan on getting married anytime soon. Maybe in seven years’ time.
Right now I am focusing on enjoying the present.
First thing in the morning, I look at the time and then pick out my outfit. I believe that what you wear has a huge influence on your day.