Joy Carroll Wallis[1] is an English priest who was one of the first women to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1994.[2] She worked in London as a vicar for 10 years. She was adviser, inspiration, and role model for Richard Curtis for his comedy television series The Vicar of Dibley.[3] Her book, Beneath the Cassock: the Real-life Vicar of Dibley[4] describes her life as a vicar. Since moving to the United States, she has become licensed as a priest in the Episcopal Church.[3]
In 1997 she married American theologian and writer Jim Wallis, and now lives in the United States.[5] She has published an autobiography, The Woman Behind the Collar.[6] She has two sons, Luke and Jack, with Jim Wallis.[3]