Jess Ashwood

**Jessica "Jess" Ashwood** is a main character in the fictional TV series, Wonderkid. She is married to Jamie Cooper, with whom she has a daughter. Formerly a professional footballer and swimwear model, Jess is now a famous fashion designer. She is a partial owner of a successful fashion brand, along with Lily Emerson, Ava Dunstead, and Emma Thorburne. During her football career, Jess played for the North London Women's Team and the England Women's National Team.

Jess is close friends with Emma Thorburne, Landon Williams, Lily Emerson, Austin Allen, and Ava Dunstead. She previously dated Kyle Hughes and had a brief fling with Elijah Kingsley.

## Background

### Birth

Jessica "Jess" Ashwood was born in Norwich, England, on June 15, 2003. Her parents are Jacob and Beatrice Ashwood (n. Clarke). She has an older sister, Kiera Ashwood. The family moved to London when Jess was just three years old.

### Education

Jess attended Forest Park Primary School, where she met Jamie Cooper. The two quickly became best friends and remained that way all throughout primary school. Even after joining the North London Women's Youth Program, she continued her studies. Throughout her time in primary school, Jess was a model student and always balanced her studies with her intensive football programs. However, in secondary school, after joining the youth program, her academic performance took a massive hit. The stress of her schedule proved to be too much for her.

### Sports

Jess began playing sports at a very young age. Her older sister played lots of sports, so Jess got introduced to them much earlier. Jess particularly liked playing football and tennis. She would eventually pursue football, but continued to play tennis recreationally throughout her life. In secondary school, Jess took up distance running and would continue to run throughout her life as well.

## Youth Football Career

### Early Career

Jess started playing football when she was three years old. On every team she was on, she was always better than her teammates, whether they were boys, girls, or a mix of both. When she was six, she joined Jamie at the Tottenham Prodigies youth club. She also met Kyle Hughes there and became friends with him. Jess was one of the best players on the team during her time there. Jess attracted many scouts from clubs that were starting up Women's Youth Programs, which were fairly rare at the time.

### Youth Program

Jess signed with the North London Women's Youth Program when she was 10 years old. She was progressing very well and looking like a potential superstar. At age 16, Jess made her England U18 Women's National Team debut. At this point, she was struggling to balance her studies and football career at the same time. This caused her to develop mental health issues, including **anxiety** and **body dysmorphia**. Concerned for their daughter's health, her parents pulled her aside and had her make a choice between school and sports. Just four months before she was set to make her England Women's National Team debut, Jess dropped out of the program and (unofficially) retired from professional football.

## Modeling and Fashion Design

### Early Modeling

Fresh out of secondary school, Jess decided to look for jobs. She was approached by a modeling agent in a department store and decided that it could be a stepping stone towards becoming a fashion designer. Jess accepted the agent's offer and did a couple gigs. She modeled a few lesser-known clothing brands, appeared on a game show, and even in a popular rap music video. From there, her modeling career took off.

### The Runway

Jess made her first appearance on the runway while modeling a swimwear collection. She quickly began growing her following, and became very popular for her fit body. While this all was happening, Jess' mental health was taking a serious hit. She was rediagnosed with body dysmorphia after having a panic attack before a show. Along with this, Jess hated only being seen as an object for people's entertainment. Her modeling career was really taking off, but Jess was starting to resent it because of the constant objectification, and how much of a toll it was taking on her mental health. She started considering other options.

### Swimwear Modeling

Jess gave up on trying to get a start in the fashion business, and, in a move slightly prompted by Kyle, started exclusively modeling swimwear. It's what made her popular, so she decided to stick with it. Jess appeared on magazines and in commercials, which started to turn her into a bit of a celebrity. She still suffered from body dysmorphia, and it got so bad that she almost had plastic surgery. Kyle was ready to help pay for it, but Jamie and Emma talked her out of it.