Joana Benedek was born in Romania but emigrated to Caracas Venezuela in 1987 when she was 15 years old. She was staying with relatives and continuing her schooling when she was invited to by a local agency to work as a model. Her modeling led her to a recurring role in a soap opera “Pecado de Amor” and she spent the next 18 moths acting. In 1997 her agent sent her photos to New York and she was hired to represent Clinique Cosmetics from 1997 to 2000.

While Joana Benedek was primarily a model, she also landed roles in several soap operas while living in Venezuela. In 1991 she had here first acting role in Rubi rebelde as Rosalba. In 1993 she played the part of Sandra in Piel and in '94 she was La Divina Joana in Sirena. These were not recurring roles. She also played the role of Cynara on Cruz de nadie in 1995 and later landed her first major role as Rosalia in Pecado de amor in 1996.

While working in New York, Joana Benedek began to study acting at the Susan Grace Academy. She was invited to host the 'Lo Nuestro Awards Ceremony' which honors Latin music stars and is produced and televised by Univision. While she was hosting the show she was noticed by a Mexican producer who offered her additional acting work. She left New York in 2000 and moved to Mexico where she began starring in soap operas.

In 2000 Benedek appeared in 2 episodes of the soap opera Mujeres enganadas and in 2001 she landed the recurring role of Roxana in the show Amigas y rivales. In 2003 she began acting on the show De pocas, pocas pulgas in the role of Renee Lastra. Two years later she began playing the part of Leonela on Barrera de amor and in 2006 she landed the role of Cristina in the Prettiest Ugly Girl. She also appeared in the series Destilando amor as Pamela Torreblanca.

In 1998 Joana Benedek landed her first role on Mexican TV as the character Catalina in the telenovela Angela which was a remake of an Argentinian made for TV movie called 'La Falsa Venganza'. While the role of Catalina was a minor one, it did bring Benedek notice from Mexican TV producers resulting in additional acting work. Joana Benedek and her sister co-own a travel agency in Romania called Joana Travel and she travels between Mexico and Romania.

Joana Benedek has won a number of awards as both a model and an actress. She was awarded 'La Super Modelo de Venezuela' for appearing in 11 television commercials at the same time. She has wone three awards for playing the best villain in different soaps including the ' Venus de Oro',' Cacique de Oro' and the 'Palmas de Oro'. She won best new actress awards in both Venezuela and Mexico for her roles in Rubi Rebelde and Angela.

Although famous as an actress in most of Central and South America, Joana has little recognition in the United States and Canada. She has no film credits and her acting has been limited almost exclusively to Spanish language television melodramas. Her three year contract as a model for Clinique ended in 2000 and she has not appeared on American television since that time. She is quite well known in the U. S. territory of Puerto Rico where Spanish language television is popular.