JONES
Emilia

• 1. Early life
• 2. Career

Emilia Annis I. Jones is an English actress, singer, and lyricist. She is most known for performing the lead role in the 2021 film CODA as Ruby Rossi in which she received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress. She is also known for playing Kinsey Locke in the Netflix series Locke & Key (2020–), while also having additional early roles in television such as Doctor Who and Utopia, and lead characters in films like Brimstone, Ghostland, and Horrible Histories. She also performed in several theatrical productions in the West End in London.

Early life

Emilia Jones is the daughter of Welsh singer and TV presenter Aled Jones and his English wife Claire Fossett. She has one younger brother, Lucas Jones.

Career

Jones' acting career began in 2010, aged 8 years old, when she appeared as Jasmine in the film One Day. She portrayed Alice in the Channel 4 drama Utopia, and later that year played the young Queen of Years Merry Gejelh in the British television series Doctor Who episode "The Rings of Akhaten" (2013). The Boston Standard lauded Jones for "carrying off her scenes with aplomb" and for "really selling Merry’s mixture of naivety, knowledge and childlike fear," while the website Zap2It praised Jones' performance for being "spot on." In film, Jones has had small roles in One Day (2011) and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011).

In 2011, Jones made her theatrical debut after playing the princess Young Fiona in the original cast of Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. In 2013, Jones appeared in Rebecca Lenkiewicz's stage adaptation of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw. She held the role of nine-year-old Flora with two other girls, alternating between them each night. After her performance on press night, Jones commented, "I don’t find it scary, I just find it so much fun... I love every bit of it."

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–present). The first season was released on 7 February 2020. This marked Jones' first main role in a television series. She was attracted to the role of Kinsey because of the prospect of being able to play two versions of the same character: Kinsey before she removes her fear, and Kinsey after she removes her fear. Jones stated in an interview about Locke & Key, "This, for me, was one of the best shoots I've ever done. The cast and crew are incredible and I absolutely adore them."

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. In order to play the part, Jones spent nine months during the shooting of Locke & Key learning sign language extensively, while also learning how to operate a professional fishing trawler. The film premiered on 28 January 2021 at the Sundance Film Festival where it was bought by Apple for $25 million. The film premiered on Apple TV+ on 13 August 2021, with the film receiving overwhelming positive reviews.

Her upcoming film is a psychological thriller titled Cat Person directed by Susanna Fogel.