Jessica Hynes
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| Jessica Hynes | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jessica Stevenson 15 November 1972 (age 35) Lewisham, England |
| Years active | 1993 - present |
| Spouse(s) | Adam Hynes |
Jessica Hynes (née Stevenson; born 15 November 1972) is an English actress and writer, most renowned as one of the creators, writers and stars of the British sitcom Spaced. She was known professionally as Jessica Stevenson until 2007.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Career
Hynes was born in Lewisham on the 15th November 1972, but grew up in Brighton, where she attended Dorothy Stringer school. She and her husband, Adam, whom she met when she was 18, have three children, born in 1998, 2003 and 2006. As a teenager Hynes was part of the National Youth Theatre company, and made her professional début in Peter Greenaway's 1993 film The Baby of Mâcon, playing the first midwife. For the first fourteen years of her career, she used her maiden name as a stage name. She teamed up with future Spaced co-star Katy Carmichael in a comedy double-act called The Liz Hurleys, then went on to television parts in the nursing drama Staying Alive (1995-1997) and short-lived sketch shows Six Pairs of Pants, (Un)natural Acts and Asylum - where the Spaced team (Stevenson, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright) first assembled.
In 1998 she was cast in the supporting role of Cheryl in the surprise hit sitcom The Royle Family and then in 1999 co-wrote and starred in Spaced. In 2004 she played a minor part as Yvonne in horror comedy Shaun of the Dead, again working with Pegg and Wright. In 2005 Hynes took the lead role in the BBC One sitcom According to Bex (which she thought was so bad that she sacked her agent for putting her up to it)[1], and had a starring role in British comedy Confetti alongside Jimmy Carr, Martin Freeman, and Mark Heap.
Hynes most recently appeared in Learners, a comedy drama television movie which she wrote and starred in, shown on BBC One in November 2007.[2] In addition to her appearance in the television series Doctor Who in the 2007 episodes "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood", Hynes had previously appeared in Big Finish's Eighth Doctor audio adventure Invaders from Mars based on the programme (which also starred her Spaced colleague Simon Pegg). She also played Mafalda Hopkirk in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
She has cowritten Phoo Action, based on the cartoons of Jamie Hewlett, which first transmitted on BBC 3 in early 2008.[3]
In the same year Hynes appears in the film Faintheart and in a revival of Alan Ayckbourne's The Norman Conquests at the Old Vic.
[edit] Awards
Hynes has won two British Comedy Awards, both for her performances in Spaced: Best Female Comedy Newcomer in 1999 and Best TV Comedy Actress in 2001. She was nominated for a TV BAFTA for her performance in the largely improvised TV feature Tomorrow La Scala (2000), and for an Olivier Award for her work in the play The Night Heron in 2003.
[edit] Television credits
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The House of Eliott | Charlotte Parker | episode 1 |
| 1995 | Six Pairs of Pants | Various characters | TV Series |
| Tears Before Bedtime | Maggie | TV Series | |
| Crown Prosecutor | Jackie South | TV Series | |
| 1996 | Mash and Peas | Various Roles | TV Series |
| Asylum | Martha & Nurse McFadden | TV Series | |
| Staying Alive | Alice Timpson | TV Series | |
| 1997 | Midsomer Murders | Judith Lessiter | episode "The Killings at Badger's Drift" |
| Armstrong and Miller | Various Roles | TV Series | |
| Harry Enfield and Chums | episode "Harry Enfield and His Yule Log Chums" | ||
| 1998 | Unnatural Acts | Various Roles | TV Series |
| Merry-Go-Round | Alice, The Ayatollah's Assistant | episode 1 | |
| The Royle Family | Cheryl Carroll | TV Series | |
| 1999 | People Like Us | Sarah | episode "The Estate Agent" |
| Spaced | Daisy Steiner | TV Series | |
| 2001 | Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) | Felia Siderova | episodes "Mental Apparition Disorder" and "Drop Dead" |
| Bob & Rose | Holly Vance | TV Series | |
| Comedy Lab | Wife | episode "Knife & Wife" | |
| 2002 | Dick Whittington | The Good Fairy | TV Film |
| Black Books | Eva | episode "Hello Sun" | |
| 2005 | According to Bex | Rebecca 'Bex' Atwell | TV Series |
| 2006 | Pinochet in Suburbia | Police Guard | TV Film |
| The Secret Policeman's Ball | Mrs. Peacock | Staged Show | |
| QI | Herself | Episode D.12 | |
| 2007 | Doctor Who | Joan Redfern | episodes "The Family of Blood" and "Human Nature" |
| Learners | Bev | TV Film | |
| Never Mind The Buzzcocks | Herself | TV Series S21E01 |
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Swing Kids | Helga |
| The Baby of Mâcon | The First Midwife | |
| 2000 | Born Romantic | Libby |
| 2002 | Tomorrow La Scala! | Victoria |
| Pure | Paramedic | |
| 2004 | Shaun of the Dead | Yvonne |
| Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason | Magda | |
| 2006 | Confetti | Sam |
| 2007 | Four Last Songs | Miranda |
| Son of Rambow | Mary | |
| Magicians | Linda | |
| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Mafalda Hopkirk (voice) |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Gareth McLean talks to screen star Jessica Stevenson about feminist history. The Guardian website. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
- ^ Press Releases: David Tennant and Jessica Hynes in the driving seat for new BBC One comedy drama Learners.. BBC website. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
- ^ Press Releases: Jessica Hynes in Phoo Action. BBC website. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
