Joy McAvoy

Joy McAvoy (born August 1982) is a Scottish actress. She made her acting debut in 2003 by starring in several short indie films and one-off television appearances before making her feature film debut in the 2012 film The Angels' Share.

Personal life
McAvoy was born on 2 August 1982 in Glasgow, to bus-driver-turned-builder James McAvoy Sr. and psychiatric nurse Elizabeth (née Johnstone; who died 2018). She was brought up as a Roman Catholic. Her parents separated when he was four and divorced when she was eight. McAvoy's mother suffered from poor health throughout her childhood. McAvoy is the younger sister of Hollywood actor James McAvoy and has a younger half-brother named Donald. Her brother James confirmed in an interview with The Guardian that both of their parents were deceased.

She attended the Catholic St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in the Jordanhill.

McAvoy is open about criticising accusations of nepotism as her older brother, James McAvoy, is a Hollywood A-Lister, stating that “People always assume that”. In 2022, she gave birth to her first child, Jamie Clement, her water breaking on the set of Two Doors Down.

Career
After leaving college with a degree in camera work, she decided to become an actress. McAvoy's first major film role was as Estelle in the 2013 black comedy Filth, which she starred in alongside her older brother James.

McAvoy has cited Two Doors Down as being her big break.