Joan's love for acting emerged later in her life. After high school, she studied to be an accountant but the monotony of it forced her to rethink that career choice.

 

Joan was born in Manila, Philippines then traveled to the U.S. at the age of five and grew up on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. She was a good student, her favorite subject was art and was a member of the National Honor Society.

 

As a young child, her father sparked her interest in martial arts by training her in Karate. As an adult, she fell in love with Kajukenbo and obtained her 1st degree black belt in 1997. After that, Joan sought training in Kickboxing, Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu. In 2011, to maintain her flexibility and zen mindset, she started her journey into yoga. Now, she has progressed to an intermediate/advanced level of yoga training.

 

In the beginning of her acting career, Joan started as a background actor on several television episodics and major features that filmed in Hawaii. After joining SAG-AFTRA, she started auditioning for speaking roles which led her to studying with acting teachers Sally Jackson, Eric Nemoto and now Robert Zimmermann & Peter Allas of Z/A Studio.

 

Joan most recently had a principal role in the Hallmark Movie Hidden Gems as Yoga Instructor Michelle, co-starred in Magnum P.I. as Will's Mom, co-starred in Ala Moana Boys as Haruyo Ida, lead role in Tales of The Circle Keys film as Kai the Executive Producer and a lead role in a dark night theatre production of Jackie Claxton: The Body Swapper where she played Jackie Claxton. She was also a supporting cast member in Sincerely, Kaye as the Step-Mother and a featured dancer in The Last Taxi Dance.

 

Joan continues her intense scene study classes with Z/A Studio, weekly kickboxing workouts, yoga practice and has been vegan since March 2020.