Person Details

Birthday:

Aliases: Jessica Stevenson , Jazzy Jess , جسیکا هاینس

Gender: Female

Place of birth: Lewisham, London, England, UK

Homepage: https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/jessica-hynes

Movie Involvements: 20

TV Involvements: 23


Most Famous Work

Biography

Jessica Hynes (née Stevenson) is a British actress, director and writer. Best known as a comedy actress, she has played Cheryl in The Royle Family (1998–2010), Siobhan Sharpe in Twenty Twelve (2011–2012) and W1A (2014–2017) and Emily Yates in There She Goes (2018–2023). She was also one of the stars, creators and writers of Spaced (1999–2001). She has also had starring roles in television film Tomorrow La Scala! and BBC dramas Years and Years (2019) and Miss Austen (2025). In film, Hynes has appeared in the Bridget Jones (2004–2016), Nativity (2012–2018) and Paddington (2017–2024) film series. Hynes has been nominated for two International Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, five BAFTAs (winning two), three Royal Television Society Awards (winning two) and three British Comedy Awards (winning two). Hynes was born in Lewisham, London, and grew up in Brighton, where she attended St Luke's Infant and Junior Schools and Dorothy Stringer High School. After her parents split up, she was raised by her mother. She moved back to London as a young adult. Her maternal grandmother came from the village of Llanelian, north Wales, where her uncle also ran a farm. Her mother is a fluent Welsh speaker who later moved back to north Wales. In 2023, Hynes took part in the S4C series Iaith ar Daith where she began to learn the Welsh language; she cited being able to speak Welsh to her mother as a reason why she wanted to take part in the programme. Early in her career, Hynes teamed up with future Spaced co-star Katy Carmichael in a comedy double-act called the Liz Hurleys, appeared in two productions at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, and acted for television shows including Staying Alive, Six Pairs of Pants, (Un)natural Acts, and Asylum (on which the Spaced team of Hynes, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright first assembled). From 1998 to 2000, she played the supporting role of Cheryl in the hit sitcom The Royle Family; she reprised the role for special episodes in 2006, 2009 and 2010. In 1999, she co-wrote and starred in Spaced, for which she won two comedy awards and was nominated for an International Emmy and a Bafta for writing and creating the show alongside Simon Pegg. In 2017 , she directed her first feature film, The Fight, produced by Jamie Adams and Unstoppable media. In 2018, she played the role of a mother in the BBC Four programme There She Goes. She stars alongside David Tennant, raising a daughter with a severe learning disability. It is based on the real life of writer Shaun Pye and his wife Sarah Crawford whose daughter was born with a chromosomal disorder. She won a Bafta for her role in the series and was nominated for an International Emmy for her role in '414' the special made in 2023. In 2019, she starred in the BBC and HBO production Years and Years for which she won a Royal Television Society award.

Most Famous Work

Doctor Who
Average
8

Doctor Who

(2005) Verity Newman
Midsomer Murders
Average
8

Midsomer Murders

(1997) Judith Lessiter
The House of Eliott
Average
6

The House of Eliott

(1991) Charlotte Parker
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer
Average
8
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Average
8

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

(2007) Mafalda Hopkirk (voice)
Mood
Average
4

Mood

(2022) Laura
Years and Years
Average
8

Years and Years

(2019) Edith Lyons
Dara O Briain's Science Club
Average
8

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
2024 Leofwine
2023 Self
2022 Helen
Mrs Glover
Old Myers
Laura
2021 Self
Herself
Marion
2020 Sofie Dahl
Self
2019 Janet
Self
Self - Guest
Edith Lyons
Tina Bell
2018 Angel Matthews
Emily
Katherine Pitt
Sara
Self - Guest
2017 Self - Performer
Miss Kitts
Wendie
2016 Ella Bond
Magda
Self
Mrs. Jackson
Marv (voice)
Herself - Panelist
2015 Crabby
Claudia
Self - Guest
Self
2014 Gail
Self
Siobhan Sharpe
N/A
Helen
2013 Margaret
N/A
Herself
Lady Daphne Littlewood
2012 Angel Matthews
N/A
Herself
Carol
2011 N/A
Siobhan Sharpe
Interviewer 2
2010 Cheryl
Herself/Sarah
Self
Lucky
N/A
Self
Sarah/Ellie
2009 Cheryl Carroll
Cath
2007 Beverley
Narrator
Mafalda Hopkirk (voice)
Self
Linda Jones
Self
Mary Proudfoot
Miranda
2006 Self
Cheryl Carroll
Sam (as Jessica Stevenson)
WPC Broughton
2005 Self
N/A
Joan Redfern
Verity Newman
Herself - Presenter
N/A
2004 Magda
Self
Yvonne
N/A
2003 Self
2002 Victoria
Paramedic (as Jessica Stevenson)
The Good Fairy (as Jessica Stevenson)
2001 Self
Holly Vance
2000 Eva
Libby
N/A
1999 Daisy Steiner
Sarah
1998 Cheryl Carroll
N/A
N/A
1997 Judith Lessiter
1996 N/A
N/A
Martha
1995 N/A
Maggie
1994 Self
1993 The First Midwife (as Jessica Stevenson)
Helga
1991 Charlotte Parker
N/A
Steph
N/A
N/A
Year Character Movie/Tv

Directing

Year Role Movie/Tv
2019 Director
Year Role Movie/Tv

Writing

Creator

Year Role Movie/Tv
2013 Creator
1999 Creator
Year Role Movie/Tv

Crew

Year Role Movie/Tv
1995 Additional Writing
Year Role Movie/Tv

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