Jo-Issa Rae Diop[1] (born January 12, 1985),[2]known as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, and producer. Rae first garnered attention for her work on the YouTube web series Awkward Black Girl.[3] Since 2011, Rae has continued to develop her YouTube channel, which features various short films, web series, and other content created by people of color.[4][5]
Rae has achieved wider recognition as the co-creator, co-writer, and star of the HBO television series Insecure (2016–present), for which she has been nominated for multiple Golden Globes Awards and Primetime Emmy Awards.[6][7] Her 2015 memoir, titled The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, became a New York Timesbest-seller. In 2018, Rae was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.[8]
Rae has also starred in films, with roles in the drama The Hate U Give (2018), the fantasy comedy Little (2019), the romance The Photograph (2020), and the romantic comedy The Lovebirds (2020).
