Jonica T. Gibbs

Gibbs was born in South Carolina^[2] and raised by her great-grandparents in Hampstead, North Carolina.^[3] She received her bachelor's degree in journalism from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.^[3] Negative experiences with faculty members in the department discouraged her from pursuing journalism.^[4] After graduation, she worked several jobs, including as a substitute teacher, and acted in student films at SCAD.^[2]

Gibbs moved to Los Angeles in 2015 to pursue acting professionally,^[3] a year after she began stand-up comedy.^[2][3] She and her close friend Rashonda Joplin started a production company and developed the web series No More Comics in L.A.^[5] They shot and financed two episodes and created a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the remaining eight episodes.^[3][6] They reached out to a number of Black television creatives to market the campaign, including Lena Waithe.^[7]

Waithe invited Gibbs to audition for Twenties, which was her first audition.^[2][3] Gibbs was cast in the lead role as Hattie, a broke, queer, aspiring TV writer loosely based on Waithe's experiences.^[4][5] Gibbs has spoken about the significance of playing one of few masculine-of-center lesbians in American media.^[3][8]

Gibbs has a recurring role in Good Trouble and the scripted podcast The Left Right Game.^[9][10] Gibbs starred in the 2022 thriller Fresh.^[11]

Gibbs is openly gay.^[4][12] She came out to her mother at 19 after watching True Life: I'm Coming Out.^[6]