Emilia Jones
Emilia Annis I. Jones (born 23 February 2002) is an English actress, singer, and songwriter. She played the lead role of Ruby Rossi in the Academy Award-winning 2021 film "CODA", for which she received several accolades, including a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She is also known for playing Kinsey Locke in the Netflix series "Locke & Key" (2020–present), and has appeared in television's "Doctor Who" (2013) and "Utopia" (2013–2014). Her other lead film roles include "Brimstone" (2016), "Ghostland" (2018), and "" (2019). She has also performed in several theatrical productions in  London's West End. Early life. Jones was born in London to Welsh singer and presenter Aled Jones and his English wife, circus performer Claire Fossett. She has one younger brother, Lucas. Career. Jones' acting career began in 2010, at the age of 8, 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 her for "carr[ying] off her scenes with aplomb  and for really sell[ing] Merry’s mixture of naivety, knowledge and childlike fear," while the website Zap2It praised Jones' performance as "spot on." She had a small role in "" (2011). In 2011, Jones made her theatrical debut playing the princess Young Fiona in the original production of "Shrek the Musical" at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. In 2013, she appeared in Rebecca Lenkiewicz's stage adaptation of Henry James's "The Turn of the Screw" as nine-year-old Flora, alternating between two other girls each night. After her performance on press night, she said, "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. It was her first main role in a television series. She was attracted to the part because of the prospect of playing two versions of the same character: Kinsey before and after she removes her fear. 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. For the part, she spent nine months (during production of "Locke & Key") learning American Sign Language, while also learning how to operate a professional fishing trawler. Principal photography ran from September 2019 to January 2020. The film premiered on 28 January 2021 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was bought by Apple Original Films for $25 million. It premiered on Apple TV+ on 13 August 2021 and received positive reviews; Jones and co-star Troy Kotsur were critically acclaimed and received several accolades . The film won the award for Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards, the first Sundance-premiered film to do so. Jones's next film is a psychological thriller, "Cat Person," where she plays the lead character of Margot, with co-star Nicholas Braun. Drected by Susanna Fogel from a screenplay by Michelle Ashford, it is based on the viral short story published by "The New Yorker" in 2017.