Emilia Jones
British actress (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emilia Jones (born 23 February 2002) is a British actress and singer. Known for her roles on stage and screen, she has received nominations for a BAFTA Film Award, a BAFTA Television Award, and a Critics' Choice Movie Award.
- Actress
- singer
Emilia Jones | |
|---|---|
Jones in 2022 | |
| Born | 23 February 2002 Westminster, London, England |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Parent | Aled Jones (father) |
Jones made her film debut in a minor role in the action film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) before taking early roles in the western Brimstone (2016) and the psychological drama Two for Joy (2018). Her breakthrough came taking the leading role in the family drama film CODA (2021), for which she received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She then took starring roles in the psychological thriller Cat Person (2023), the romance Charlie Harper (2025) and the biographical dramedy Tony (2026).
On television, Jones also starred in the Netflix adventure series Locke & Key (2020–2022) and the HBO crime series Task (2025) the later of which earned her a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress. On stage, she worked as a child actress in the West End theatre as Young Fiona in Shrek the Musical (2011–2012) and Henry James' The Turn of the Screw (2013).
Early life
Jones was born on 23 February 2002 in London to Welsh singer and presenter Aled Jones and his wife, English circus performer Claire Fossett. She grew up in Barnes with her younger brother Lucas.[1] Jones attended an improvisation class run by an agent, through whom she was cast in One Day.[2] She attended Kew House School in West London before concentrating on acting full time.
Career
2011–2019: Early roles
Jones' acting career began in 2010, at age eight, when she appeared as Jasmine in the film One Day.[3] Jones portrayed Alice in the Channel 4 drama Utopia,[4] and later that year, she played the young Queen of Years Merry Gejelh in the British television series Doctor Who episode "The Rings of Akhaten" (2013).[5] The Boston Standard lauded Jones for "carr[ying] off her scenes with aplomb" and for "really sell[ing] Merry’s mixture of naivety, knowledge and childlike fear,"[6] while the website Zap2It praised Jones' performance as "spot on."[7] She had a small role in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011).[3]
In 2011, Jones made her theatrical debut playing the princess Young Fiona in the original production of Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.[3][8] Two years later, Jones appeared in Rebecca Lenkiewicz's stage adaptation of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw as nine-year-old Flora, alternating between two other girls each night. After her performance on press night, Jones said, "I don’t find it scary, I just find it so much fun... I love every bit of it."[1][9]
In December 2018, it was announced that Jones was cast as Kinsey Locke, one of the main characters in the Netflix fantasy drama series Locke & Key (2020–2022).[10] The first season was released on 7 February 2020.[11] It was Jones' first main role in a television series. She was attracted to the part because of the prospect of playing two versions of the same character: Kinsey before and after she removes her fear.[12]
2020–present: Breakthrough
In 2021, Jones starred in the Apple TV+ comedy-drama film CODA as Ruby Rossi, the only hearing member of her family who dreams of going to Berklee. For the part, Jones spent nine months (during production of Locke & Key) learning American Sign Language, while also learning how to operate a professional fishing trawler. Principal photography ran from September 2019 to January 2020. The film premiered on 28 January 2021 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was bought by Apple Original Films for $25 million. It premiered on Apple TV+ on 13 August 2021 and received positive reviews; Jones and co-star Troy Kotsur were critically acclaimed and received several accolades.[13] The film won the award for Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards, the first Sundance-premiered film to do so.
Post-CODA, Jones starred in the films Cat Person (2023), Fairyland (2023), and Winner (2024), all of which received lukewarm reviews from critics. 2025 marked another highlight for the actress' career as she was cast in her first blockbuster project: Edgar Wright's adaptation of The Running Man, as well as the first season of HBO's crime drama series Task, the latter garnering her first BAFTA TV Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actress.[14] That same year, she declined to audition the part for Supergirl (2026), which ended up to Milly Alcock.[15]
Her upcoming projects include the romantic drama Charlie Harper (2025), the sports drama The 99'ers, and the biopic drama Tony.[citation needed]
Acting credits
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | English Girl | |
| One Day | Jasmine | ||
| 2014 | What We Did on Our Holiday | Lottie | |
| 2015 | Youth | Frances | |
| High-Rise | Vicky | ||
| 2016 | Brimstone | Joanna | |
| 2018 | Ghostland | young Elizabeth "Beth" Keller | |
| Patrick | Vikki | ||
| Two for Joy | Violet / Vi | ||
| 2019 | Nuclear | Emma | |
| Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans | Orla | ||
| 2021 | CODA | Ruby Rossi | |
| 2023 | Cat Person | Margot | |
| Fairyland | Alysia Abbott | ||
| 2024 | Winner | Reality Winner | [16] |
| 2025 | Charlie Harper | Harper | |
| The Running Man | Amelia Williams | ||
| 2026 | Tony | Nancy | [17] |
| TBA | The 99'ers † | Julie Foudy | Filming |
Television
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | House of Anubis | Young Sarah Frobisher-Smythe | 8 episodes |
| 2013 | Doctor Who | Merry Gejelh | Episode: "The Rings of Akhaten" |
| 2013–2014 | Utopia | Alice Ward | Recurring role |
| 2014 | Residue | Charlotte Jones | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Wolf Hall | Anne Cromwell | Episode: "Three Card Trick" |
| 2020–2022 | Locke & Key | Kinsey Locke | Main cast |
| 2025 | Task | Maeve Prendergrast | Main cast[18] |
Theatre
| Year | Show | Role | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–2012 | Shrek The Musical | Young Fiona | Theatre Royal, Drury Lane |
| 2013 | Turn of the Screw | Flora | Almeida Theatre |
| 2014 | Far Away | Joan | Young Vic |
Music videos
| Year | Artist(s) | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | JC Stewart | "I Need You to Hate Me"[19] |
Discography
Soundtracks
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Horrible Histories (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
|
| CODA (Soundtrack from the Apple Original Film) |
|
As main artist
| Song | Main artist(s) | Writer(s) | Album | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Long Song"[20] | Emilia Jones (feat. The BBC National Orchestra Of Wales) | Murray Gold | Doctor Who: Series 7 (Original Television Soundtrack) | 2013 |
As featured artist
| Song | Main artist(s) | Writer(s) | Album | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Psycho"[21] | Liam Jessup (as justliam) | Liam Jessup | N/A | 2021 |
