Since 2011, Issa Rae has continued to develop her YouTube channel, which features various short films, web series, and other content created by Black people.
30 Facts About Issa Rae
2.
Issa Rae has achieved wider recognition as the co-creator, co-writer, and star of the HBO television series Insecure, for which she has been nominated for multiple Golden Globes Awards and Primetime Emmy Awards.
3.
In 2018 and 2022, Issa Rae was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.
4.
Issa Rae has starred in feature films, with roles in the drama The Hate U Give, the fantasy comedy Little, the romance The Photograph, the romantic comedy The Lovebirds, and the comedy thriller Vengeance.
5.
Issa Rae provided the voice work for the short film Hair Love, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2020.
6.
Issa Rae's father, Abdoulaye Diop, is a pediatrician and neonatologist from Senegal, and her mother, Delyna Marie Diop, is a teacher from Louisiana.
7.
Issa Rae's parents met in France, when they were both in school.
8.
Issa Rae's father has a medical practice in Inglewood, California.
9.
Issa Rae graduated from King Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science, where she started acting.
10.
Issa Rae's parents divorced when she was in high school.
11.
In 2007, Issa Rae graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in African and African-American Studies.
12.
At Stanford, Issa Rae met Tracy Oliver, who helped produce Awkward Black Girl and starred on the show as Nina.
13.
Oliver and Issa Rae started taking classes together at the New York Film Academy.
14.
Issa Rae worked odd jobs and at one point was struggling to decide between business school and law school, but eventually abandoned both ideas when Awkward Black Girl started taking off in 2011.
15.
Issa Rae eventually partnered with Pharrell and premiered season two of the series on his YouTube channel, iamOTHER.
16.
Issa Rae began releasing other content on her original channel, predominantly created by and starring people of color.
17.
Issa Rae created Awkward Black Girl because she felt the Hollywood stereotypes of African-American women were limiting and she could not relate to them:.
18.
In 2013, Issa Rae began working on a comedy series pilot with Larry Wilmore, in which she would star.
19.
On October 11,2019, Google announced that Issa Rae would be an additional voice to the Google Assistant.
20.
In 2021, Sweet Life: Los Angeles, an reality television program created by Issa Rae, was produced as part of this deal.
21.
Issa Rae's middle name, Rae, is after an aunt, who was an artist.
22.
Issa Rae married her longtime partner, Louis Diame, a Senegalese businessman, in a private ceremony in France in July 2021.
23.
Issa Rae first wore her engagement ring publicly on the cover of Essence magazine's April 2019 issue.
24.
Issa Rae has used her platform to bring attention to police violence and brutality against African-Americans.
25.
Issa Rae is an advocate for civil rights and women's rights movements.
26.
Issa Rae's work includes themes of equality and social justice.
27.
Issa Rae's show Insecure has changed the public perception of the South Los Angeles community by highlighting Black businesses.
28.
In 2012, Issa Rae was included on the annual Forbes '30 Under 30' list in the entertainment section.
29.
In May 2015, Issa Rae appeared on the cover of Essence magazine's Game Changers issue, alongside Shonda Rhimes, Ava DuVernay, Debbie Allen, and Mara Brock Akil.
30.
Issa Rae expressed her desire for more people of color working in production behind the scenes to make a lasting impact in the television industry.