Joy Rieger

Joy Rieger, born on 3 March 1994 in Herzliya, Israel, is a celebrated Israeli actress whose career has spanned more than two decades, beginning in childhood and evolving into international acclaim. Raised by Belgian‑immigrant parents, Ilan Steve Rieger and Evelyn Scheiner‑Rieger, she attended the prestigious Thelma Yellin High School for the Arts where she majored in theater, graduating in 2012 before serving as a video editor in the elite Unit 8200 of the Israeli Intelligence Corps. Her early forays onto the stage included roles in beloved children's productions such as The Jungle Book and The Sound of Music, setting a foundation for a versatile screen presence that would later define her work. From 2012 to 2016, Rieger captured audiences as Dina Navon, a spirited delinquent, in the popular Nickelodeon youth series The Greenhouse, a role that cemented her status in Israeli television. In 2016 she delivered a powerful performance alongside Nelly Tagar in Avi Nesher’s Past Life, portraying a career‑driven sister uncovering harrowing family secrets tied to the Holocaust, which demonstrated her capacity for nuanced dramatic storytelling. The following year she earned the Israeli Television Academy Award for Best Actress in a Youth Series for her portrayal of Alma in the series Oboy, wherein she explored gender disguise and familial sacrifice. Rieger’s breakout international moment arrived with the French‑Israeli film Virgins (2017), earning her the Best Actress in a Foreign Language Film prize at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, an award presented by the late Ray Liotta. Subsequent collaborations with Avi Nesher—including The Other Story (2018) and Image of Victory (2020)—as well as appearances in the HBO Max‑licensed miniseries Valley of Tears (2019) and the French horror feature Killer Influence (2023), have showcased her range across genres. In 2024 she received an honorable mention at the Tel Aviv International LGBTQ+ Film Festival for the short I’m Not Okay, a project she wrote, directed, and starred in, reflecting her growing creative agency. Openly identifying as a lesbian, Rieger has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ visibility, sharing personal milestones such as her 2017 coming out and relationships with fellow actresses Moran Rosenblatt and Carmel Bean, and currently resides in Tel Aviv with partner chef Shirel Berger, continuing to influence both Israeli and global cinema.