Biography
Janice Lynn Sykes grew up in a suburb near Chicago, Illinois before moving to Southern California to work in the entertainment industry. Janice's first job in television production was working as an intern for The Arsenio Hall Show (1989-1994) while she was a student at Purdue University. While at Purdue, Janice served as the production coordinator for Purdue's Black Cultural Center and wrote and acted in plays and oversaw over 200 participants involved in all facets of production, including actors, dancers, singers, writers, musicians, and stage crew. She also wrote and produced a radio show for WBAA radio called Soul Plus Magazine.
After graduating from Purdue University, Janice returned to The Arsenio Hall Show as a researcher. While there, Janice earned her SAG-AFTRA card in a unique way. A writer for the show asked Janice for some information while she was on the phone. Janice told the writer to wait by jokingly responding to him as an improvised character she created named Fuquanda. The writer returned to his office, then quickly returned to the research department with the entire writing staff and asked Janice to "do that character again." Janice complied and, shortly after that, the writers wrote a "mockumentary" skit for Arsenio Hall featuring Janice's character renamed "Fuquanda Rodham Hall, Arsenio's half, step-sister." Later, Janice acted in additional skits on the show. After The Arsenio Hall Show ended, Janice worked as a production assistant and as an associate producer for Jones and Jury (1994-1995).
Janice trained in acting at Purdue University, The Groundlings School, South Coast Repertory, and The Actor's Studio of Orange County. She trained in voice acting at The Actor's Studio of Orange County with Isaac Robinson-Smith, voice actor and teacher, one-on-one with Robin Reed, voice actor and coach, in the SAG-AFTRA Foundation voice-over labs, and one-on-one with Carroll Day Kimble, casting director. She is an actor with a warm, sultry, confident, trustworthy voice. Some of her credits include voice-overs for a short film called Secret Menu Beauty Pageant (2024), commercials, an audiobook, a podcast scripted audio drama called Higher Grounds (2026), promos, narration, and educational videos.
Janice has many passions. She loves all aspects of entertainment and she loves the field of education. After earning her B.A. in Communication from Purdue University, she earned her M.A. in Special Education from California State University, became a National Board-Certified Teacher in English, and earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, with a concentration in educational psychology, from the University of Southern California. When she isn't acting, Dr. Sykes is an English and drama high school teacher.
