Gemma Jones
About
Biography
Filmography
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Biography
This petite auburn-haired sparkling-eyed British character player is best-known in her homeland for her acclaimed stage and TV performances. Gemma Jones is recalled by American audiences for her starring turn as the lower-class cook turned upper-crust hotelier in two series of "The Duchess of Duke Street" (PBS, 1976-78) and for her screen work as the often perplexed mother of the Dashwood sisters in Ang Lee's superior "Sense and Sensibility" (1995).
The daughter of British actor Griffith Jones, Gemma (born Jennifer) Jones found almost immediate employment after her graduation for RADA. Within a year, she was appearing in London's West End alongside Peter O'Toole in "Baal" (1963) and she primarily concentrated on her stage career over the next three decades. Among her many notable performances were Portia in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" (1964-65), "Saint Joan" (1966), Ophelia to Richard Chamberlain's "Hamlet" (1969), Blanche Du Bois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1975), Goneril in "King Lear" (1989) and, more recently, Sonya in "Tolstoy" (1996), opposite F. Murray Abraham. Jones toured throughout the world in the early 1970s with Peter Brook's famed production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and returned to the US with the National Theatre's 1994 production of "The Winter's Tale."
Jones made her screen debut in Ken Russell's visually stunning but somewhat confused "The Devils" (1971). Her additional screen work has been fairly limited. On TV, she has appeared in "The Lie" (1970) by Ingmar Bergman, the thriller "Dial a Deadly Number" (ABC, 1975) and PBS' "Devices and Desires" (1991). On the big screen, Jones was also seen as a physician in "Paperhouse" (1988) and as another 19th century mother in the Merchant-Ivory production "Feast of July" (1995).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1962
After graduating from RADA, made stage debut in "The Beaux Strategem"
1962
Made London stage debut opposite Peter O'Toole in "Baal"
1971
Feature film debut, Ken Russell's "The Devils"
1971
Played Hippolyta and Titania in Peter Brook's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" on tour throughout the world including the U.S.
1972
Joined the Royal Shakespeare Company
1976
Starred in "The Duchess of Duke Street" (shown first on the BBC and in the U.S. on PBS' "Masterpiece Theater")
1979
Made stage musical debut as Sally Bowles in "Cabaret"
1980
Cast as Portia in BBC production of "The Merchant of Venice"
1986
Co-starred in "The Importance of Being Earnest" (BBC)
1991
Starred in Arthur Miller's "A Ride Down Mount Morgan" in London
1994
Returned to U.S. to appear with The National Theatre production of "The Winter's Tale" in Washington, DC
1995
Played supporting role of Mrs. Dashwood in Ang Lee's "Sense and Sensibility"
1997
Portrayed Lady Queensberry in "Wilde"
1999
Co-starred as Mrs. Winslow in David Mamet's remake of "The Winslow Boy"
2001
Cast as the title character's mother in "Bridget Jones's Diary," based on the novel by Helen Fielding
2001
Landed featured role in the London stage revival of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
2002
Played Madam Pomfrey in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," directed by Chris Columbus
2003
Landed recurring role on ITV crime drama "Trial & Retribution"
2004
Reprised role as Bridget's mum in "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason"
2009
Reprised Madam Pomfrey role in David Yates directed "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
2010
Appeared in "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger," written and directed by Woody Allen
2011
Returned as Madam Pomfrey in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
2012
Played supporting role opposite Hugh Dancy and Maggie Gyllenhaal in the period comedy "Hysteria"
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