Winter Jones
Winter Jones, stage name Winter Jonz, previously Tony Yalda, sometimes credited as Anthony Yalda (born March 25, 1981) is an Assyrian actor. Biography. Jonz was born to Assyrian parents in Beirut, Lebanon. His family fled Lebanon after facing persecution during the Lebanese Civil War. Like most Assyrian refugees, Jonz’s family arrived in Athens, Greece, seeking asylum. Four years later, the family finally arrived in Chicago, Illinois. Jonz studied theatre at DePaul University and Roosevelt University's Theatre Conservatory. In 2004, he dropped out of school and arrived in Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. Pretending  to be a messenger service, dropping off pictures and resumes, he made the rounds of casting offices until in 2005 he landed a role in "The Comeback" starring Lisa Kudrow. He booked his next role in "American Dreamz" a month later, which landed him with former talent agency, GVA Talent. His former band The Hollabacks won a national competition for 7 Eleven in 2010, making them the face of Slurpee for a 6 month campaign. The Hollabacks music was featured in "Cyrus". The band was also archived in Wolfgang’s Vault. Jonz moved to Minneapolis in 2011 to pursue his  solo career with producer/songwriter Michael Bland who is the former drummer for the late Prince. Jones wrote two albums with Bland, "O My God" and "Sex Appeal" under the alias Ladyboi. The two albums are now featured as Winter Jones, Volume I on Spotify. Jonz dropped the name Ladyboi in 2014 adopting the name Winter Jones, and legally changing his name in 2015. Jonz currently resides in Chicago, IL and is writing/recording and performing in the Windy City.