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Joan Blair was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1960. She performed in school productions and various regional theater groups. She trained at the Herbert-Berghof Acting Studio in New York City, studying with instructors such as Uta Hagen and Michael Beckett.
She attended the University of Missouri at Columbia and California State University, Northridge, before completing her education at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg in 1996, earning a BFA in Theatre with a focus on Acting and Directing.
Blair pursued an acting career in film and television, securing co-starring roles on TV shows including "Tracey Takes On...", "Rude Awakening", "Malcolm In the Middle", "Judging Amy", "Monk", "My Name Is Earl", and "Criminal Minds". Her film credits include diverse roles in "Mr. Chick Magnet," "Echoes of Enlightenment", "Donnie Darko", "Daddy Daycare", and "Surviving Christmas". She also appeared in "Baadasssss", Mario Van Peebles' film about his father Melvin's efforts to create the first "black hero" film in 1970. "Baadasssss" was featured at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, where it received standing ovations at every screening. The film was released by Sony Pictures Classics and is available on DVD.
Blair played a supporting lead role as Jady Hemmingway in the indie feature "Boppin' at the Glue Factory", produced by Brooklyn Reptyle Productions. In 2007, she had a small role in "He's Just Not That Into You", which premiered in US theaters on February 6, 2009, and is now available on DVD. In 2010, she appeared in guest roles on two new TV comedies, including "Important Things With Demetri Martin", where she portrayed a woman in a Near-Death Experience Support Group during the show's second season on Comedy Central.
Her charitable activities include supporting the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Monica, participating in Screen Actors Guild's Bookpals program that reads to schoolchildren, and sponsoring a child through Save the Children.
