Joy is one of the funniest characters on My Name is Earl, and she’s played by a familiar actress with an impressive filmography. My Name is Earl revolves around Earl Hickey, a small-time crook who renounces his life of crime, writes down a list of all his wrongdoings, and sets out to make amends after he’s introduced to the concept of karma. Joy is Earl’s ex-wife who left him to marry Darnell, the busboy at the Crab Shack. In spite of Joy’s dismissive attitude towards Earl (and her tendency to call him “dummy”) they remained close friends – Earl even took the fall for Joy’s crimes.
In stark contrast with Earl’s mission to do good and Darnell’s kind nature, Joy is bad-tempered, ill-mannered, and obnoxious. Joy does have a deep capacity for love, seen in the care and affection she has for her two sons, Dodge and Earl, Jr. But she doesn’t care much for anyone else and, as a result, has made enemies with just about everyone in Camden County. Given the abrasive nature of Joy’s personality, it took an especially talented actor to make her as lovable as she is. Joy was played by a recognizable star from both hit comedy movies and other TV shows.
Jaime Pressly Plays Joy Turner In My Name Is Earl
Joy is played by Jaime Pressly in My Name is Earl. Pressly told BELLA magazine that playing Joy, a character who says whatever is on her mind without worrying about the consequences, was the “greatest release” for her as an actor. She was widely praised for her performance, as critics had as much fun watching the character as Pressly had playing her. For her work on My Name is Earl, Pressly won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding ing Actress in a Comedy Series and was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
While characters like Randy and Catalina were written to be inherently likable, Joy was at risk of coming off as unlikable if the part was cast wrong. But Pressly was so hilarious in the role that viewers were immediately endeared to Joy. Pressly’s pitch-perfect line deliveries nailed Joy’s biting brand of insult humor. Whether she was barking demands at Darnell or arguing with Catalina or chewing out Earl and Randy for their incompetence, Joy always got a big laugh whenever she was on-screen and Pressly stole every scene she was in.
But Pressly didn’t just play Joy as a comedic persona; she also found the vulnerability and humanity in the character. She lashes out at people because she’s had a tough life. Joy has had to fend for herself since she was kicked out of her parents’ house, so she’s scrappy and protective. Pressly brought more depth and dimension to Joy than the average sitcom character. She captured Joy’s comically exaggerated aggression perfectly, but she also showed the audience that that aggression came from a place of insecurity, and that Joy had a soft side (albeit a soft side that she very rarely let show).
Pressly Starred In Several 2000s Comedies
While Joy in My Name is Earl is Pressly’s most iconic role, she’s not the only character the actress is known for. Pressly’s other TV roles include Mika in Mortal Kombat: Conquest, Pam Milton in Rules of Engagement, Donna in Raising Hope, Annie Watson in I Hate My Teenage Daughter, Tammy in Two and a Half Men, and Sadie in BoJack Horseman. In between TV appearances, Pressly has also appeared on the big screen, primarily in comedy movies throughout the 2000s, playing such roles as Jill in Joe Dirt and the voice of the Blue-Headed Palooski Mrs. Quilligan in Horton Hears a Who!.
Before appearing in My Name is Earl, Pressly starred alongside Chris Evans and Chyler Leigh in the high school parody film Not Another Teen Movie. Pressly played Priscilla, “The Nasty Cheerleader,” a composite caricature of Taylor Vaughan from She’s All That, Angela Hayes from American Beauty, and the competitive cheerleaders from Bring It On. There are a few notable similarities in the characterization of both Joy and Priscilla. Much like Joy, Priscilla is rude and mean-spirited to an absurd degree. Priscilla is also full of hilarious one-liners like Joy, including the MTV Movie Award-nominated quip, “Oh, it’s already been broughten!”
Pressly also played Denise McLean, the best friend of Rashida Jones’ character Zooey Rice, in the classic Paul Rudd movie I Love You, Man. Denise is the hot-headed wife of Jon Favreau’s character Barry McLean. Like Joy in My Name is Earl, Denise is volatile, inauspicious, and prone to angry outbursts, but unlike Joy, her husband is the same. Joy’s husband Darnell balances her out perfectly with a calm, relaxing, friendly attitude. But Denise’s husband Barry is just as easily aggravated as her. Every conversation between them turns into a screaming match. Denise’s relationship with Barry is like if Joy was married to herself.
Pressly Was A Series Regular In Mom
Pressly was a series regular in the cast of the hit Chuck Lorre 2010s sitcom Mom. Mom revolves around the dysfunctional mother-daughter pairing of Bonnie and Christy Plunkett, played by the well-matched Allison Janney and Anna Faris. Pressly played Jill Kendall, a woman in recovery whom Christy met at AA. Jill debuted as a recurring character in season 2, but she was promoted to the main cast in season 3 and Pressly remained a staple of the series to the very end. Pressly was nominated for the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best ing Actress in a Comedy Series for her turn as Jill in Mom.
Like Joy in My Name is Earl, Jill has a tragic backstory that gets revealed throughout the series. Whereas Joy’s parents kicked her out of their house when she got pregnant, Jill’s mother struggled with addiction (much like Jill herself did later in life). Jill’s mother took her own life when Jill was a teenager, and Jill carried the grief and trauma from that experience into adulthood. Vanity is a defining character trait of both Joy and Jill, but Joy’s vanity only extends to her physical appearance. Whereas Jill cares what people think of her, Joy couldn’t care less about anyone’s opinion (except that of her sons).
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