Cathy Jones
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Cathy Jones (born April 6, 1955, in St. John's, Newfoundland) is a Canadian comedian and writer.
She was born Catherine Theresa Jones in 1955 in Newfoundland, Canada and attended Holy Heart of Mary High School. Jones' mother, although loving, was agoraphobic and seldom left the family house. Her father, a photography store owner to whom Jones was very close growing up, suffered from depression and alcoholism, and emotionally distanced himself from her when she was a teenager, causing her to feel a lifelong sense of abandonment.
Jones was 19 when her older brother, comedian Andy Jones, asked her to join the Traveling Nfld Theatre Company. She later became a household name in Canadian comedy following 11 years as one of the stars and founding members of the legendary comedy troupe CODCO.
In 1992, Jones, comic Rick Mercer and former CODCO co-stars Mary Walsh and Greg Thomey created a new television series, This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Her characters on the show include Miss Enid, Babe Bennett and Joe Crow. As of 2005, with the departure of Greg Thomey, Jones is the only remaining original cast member of This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
A chameleon and gifted mimic, Jones has won 10 Gemini Awards and three Canadian comedy awards for Best Writing in a Comedy Series for her work on 22 Minutes.
Jones has toured extensively with her one-woman shows Wedding in Texas and Me, Dad and The Hundred Boyfriends. Her film career includes the lead role in her brother Mike Jones' film Secret Nation, which aired on CBC Television.
[edit] Personal life
In 1981, Jones had a daughter, Mara; her father left when she was two months old, and Jones raised her as a single parent.
In the early 1990s, Jones married painter Paul Hannon, and although the union produced a daughter, Eleanor (born 1994), the marriage was an unhappy one; after her divorce Jones says she regained her lost 'joie de vivre' and is now a practicing Shambhala Buddhist.
Jones' current companion is Tom Wilson, songwriter and lead singer of the Canadian band Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. When not on the road performing, they live in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
