Joy Lauren as Danielle Van de Kamp

Joy Lauren was born on October 18, 1989 in Atlanta, Georgia. She began her studies at the Galloway School, and discovered her passion for acting when she was only seven years old. She acquired her first acting experiences at Atlanta’s Alliance Theater, and when Lauren was eleven years, her mother relocated them to Los Angeles in the hopes of gaining more significant exposure for Lauren.

Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Lauren went on to act in both stage and television productions and after five years was cast in the role of Danielle Van de Kamp in the hit television series, Desperate Housewives. In an interview with the online magazine The Star Scoop, Lauren said that her audition process “was rather short” and that she was so impressed with the script that she knew she had to be part of the show. She received her call back after she dropped two other projects for which she was being considered. In talking about the development of her character, Lauren said, “Well, when we started the show she was famous for snarky one liners, but was over all a good kid. Her father dies, her first real boyfriend breaks her heart and she has been on a steady down hill spiral since. The next love of her life holds up her mother then is shot by the SWAT team so she finds solace by sleeping with her history teacher. Her home life isn't steady so she clings to men who don't serve her well either. She's really changed a lot in the past two years, more than I have for sure.”

Aside from acting, Lauren spends her time breeding show horses. In addition, she received her dance training from the Atlanta Dance Company and completed her secondary education at the young age of 14. At present, Lauren is living in Los Angeles with her mother, Nan Jorgensen, and is preparing for her collegiate studies.