Gemma Jones

For the New Zealand sailor, see Gemma Jones (sailor).

Gemma Jones
Jones at the screening of You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Jennifer Jones (1942-12-04) 4 December 1942 Marylebone, London, England
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1962–present
Parent	Griffith Jones
Relatives	Nicholas Jones (brother)

Jennifer "Gemma" Jones (born 4 December 1942) is an English actress. Appearing on both stage and screen, her film appearances include Sense and Sensibility (1995), the Bridget Jones series (2001–2025), the Harry Potter series (2002–2011), You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010), and Ammonite (2020).

For her role in the BBC television film Marvellous (2014), she won the 2015 BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other roles on television include Rainbow City (1967), The Duchess of Duke Street (1976–1977), Trial & Retribution (2003–2008), Spooks (2007–2008), Teacup Travels (2015–2017), Diana and I (2017), and Gentleman Jack (2019).

Early life

Jones was born in Marylebone, the daughter of Irene (née Isaac; 1911–1985) and Harold "Griffith" Jones, an actor (1909–2007). Her brother Nicholas Jones is also an actor. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she won the gold medal.

Career

During the 1960s, Gemma Jones performed with companies at regional theatres including the Nottingham Playhouse, Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Little Theatre, Bristol. In 1962 she appeared at the Mermaid Theatre as Gilda in the original stage production of Alfie. In the 1970s, Jones performed in productions with the National Theatre at the Old Vic and with the Royal Shakespeare Company as Hippolyta/Titania. Jones made many further performances in classical and contemporary plays with the RSC in the 1980s and 1990s, including appearances in separate productions of The Winters Tale as both Hermione (1981) and a decade later as Paulina (1993). In 1986, she played the soprano Giuseppina Strepponi in After Aida at the Old Vic Theatre.

On television Jones became known to viewers after starring in the BBC serial Kenilworth (1967) as Queen Elizabeth I, and in BBC 2's 1970 dramatisation of The Spoils of Poynton.

She was first recognised outside the UK in the mid-1970s, after playing the Empress Frederick in the BBC television drama series Fall of Eagles and Louisa Trotter in another BBC drama, The Duchess of Duke Street. In 1980, she played the role of Portia in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of The Merchant of Venice, opposite Warren Mitchell's Shylock.

Jones played Madeleine de Brou in the 1971 Ken Russell film The Devils. She played Mrs. Dashwood alongside Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson in the Academy Award-winning period drama Sense and Sensibility (1995). Her other notable roles include Mrs. Fairfax in Jane Eyre (1997), Lady Queensbury in Wilde (1997), Grace Winslow in The Winslow Boy (1999), Bridget's mother Pam Jones in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and Poppy Pomfrey in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), reprising her role in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011).

From 2007 to 2008, she played Connie James in the BBC1 drama Spooks. She appeared in the Woody Allen film You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger in 2010. In 2011, she appeared in the BBC1 series Merlin, as the Cailleach, the gatekeeper to the spirit world. Also in 2011 she appeared in the Bridge Project's version of Richard III as Queen Margaret, alongside Kevin Spacey as Richard III and directed by Sam Mendes, at the Old Vic and subsequently on an international tour.

She received the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Neil Baldwin's mother, Mary, in the 2014 television film Marvellous.

In 2015, Jones played the part of Petunia Howe in the three-part BBC series Capital, based on John Lanchester's novel of the same name. In the 2018 BBC Radio 4 production of The Importance of Being Earnest Jones played the part of Lady Augusta Bracknell.

Jones has twice played the same part of Anne Lister's aunt, first in the 2010 BBC telefilm The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister and again in the 2019-2022 BBC/HBO programme Gentleman Jack.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	The Devils	Madeleine
1988	Paperhouse	Dr. Sarah Nicols
	On the Black Hill	Mary Jones
1995	Feast of July	Mrs. Wainwright
	Sense and Sensibility	Mrs. Dashwood
1997	Wilde	Lady Queensberry
1998	OK Garage	Mrs. Wiggins
	The Theory of Flight	Anne
1999	The Winslow Boy	Grace Winslow
	Captain Jack	Eunice Pickles
	Cotton Mary	Mrs Freda Davids
2001	Bridget Jones's Diary	Pamela Jones
	Don't Tempt Me	Nancy
2002	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	Madam Poppy Pomfrey
2003	Shanghai Knights	Queen Victoria
	Kiss of Life	Sonia
2004	Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason	Pamela Jones
2005	Fragile	Mrs. Folder
2007	The Contractor	Mrs. Day	Short
2008	Good	Mother
2009	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	Madam Poppy Pomfrey
2010	You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger	Helena
	Forget me Not	Lizzie Fisher
2011	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2	Madam Poppy Pomfrey
	Hysteria	Lady St. John-Smythe
2013	Burn the Clock	Becky	Short
2014	Radiator	Maria
2016	Bridget Jones's Baby	Pamela Jones
2017	God's Own Country	Deirdre Saxby
	Carnage	Davina
	Gypsy's Kiss	Judith	Short
	You, Me and Him	Sue Miller
2018	The Egg and the Thieving Pie	Thelma
	Patrick	Celia
2019	Rocketman	Ivy
2020	Ammonite	Molly Anning
2021	Benediction	Older Hester Gatty
2022	Emily	Aunt Branwell
2023	Wicked Little Letters	Victoria Swan
2025	Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy	Pamela Jones	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Note
1962	ITV Play of the Week	Postmistress	Episode: "The Typewriter"
	No Hiding Place	Brenda
1963	The Human Jungle	Pamela Phillips	Episode: "The Vacant Chair"
	ITV Television Playhouse	Rachel	Episode: "Adam's Apple"
1965	Theatre 625	Victoire / Lucille Desmoulins	Episode: "Poor Bitos"
1966	ITV Play of the Week	Vera Fawcett	Episode: "Come Laughing Home"
	Thirteen Against Fate	Antoinette Baron	Episode: "The Lodger"
	Theatre 625	Nina	Episode: "The Seagull"
1967	Rainbow City	Mary Steele	4 episodes
1968	Sanctuary	Sister Stephens	Episode: "The Novice"
1969	The Wednesday Play	Clarice	Episode: "Smoke Screen"
1970	Crime of Passion	Nicole Delcourt	Episode: "Nicole"
	The Spoils of Poynton	Fleda Vetch	4 episodes
1971	Shadows of Fear	Judith	Episode: "At Occupier's Risk"
1974	Fall of Eagles	Princess Vicky	2 episodes
1976–1977	The Duchess of Duke Street	Louisa Trotter	31 episodes
1980	The Merchant of Venice	Portia	TV movie
1986	The Importance of Being Earnest	Miss Prism
1987	Inspector Morse	Anne Staveley	Episode: "The Dead of Jericho"
1988	The Storyteller	Queen	Episode: "The Heartless Giant"
1989	Chelworth	Virginia Hincham	8 episodes
1990	The Ruth Rendell Mysteries	Mrs Peveril	3 episodes
1991	Devices and Desires – Adam Dalgliesh	Alice Mair	6 episodes
1993	Wycliffe and the Cycle of Death	Sara Glynn	TV movie
	Screen One	Nicky Dobbs	Episode: "Tender Loving Care"
	The Return of the Borrowers	Miss Menzies	3 episodes
1994	Faith	Jane Moreton	4 episodes
1997	Jane Eyre	Mrs Fairfax
	The Phoenix and the Carpet	Mrs Bibble	6 episodes
1999	An Evil Streak	Beatrice Kyle	3 episodes
2002	Bootleg	Mrs Bubby	3 episodes
	Midsomer Murders	Maisie Gooch	Episode: "Ring Out Your Dead"
2003	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Miss Cecilia Williams	Episode: "Five Little Pigs"
2003–2008	Trial & Retribution	Dr Jean Mullins	10 episodes
2005	All About George	Kate Kinsey	6 episodes
2007	Ballet Shoes	Dr Jakes	TV movie
2007–2008	Spooks	Connie James	16 episodes
2010	The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister	Aunt Lister	TV movie
	Whistle and I'll Come to You	Alice Parkin
2011	Merlin	The Cailleach	2 episodes
2013	The Lady Vanishes	Rose Flood-Porter	TV movie
	Death in Paradise	Sister Anne	Episode: "An Unholy Death"
	Last Tango in Halifax	Muriel	2 episodes
2014	Marvellous	Mary	TV movie
2015	Doc Martin	Annie Winton	2 episodes
	Unforgotten	Claire Slater	6 episodes
	Capital	Petunia	3 episodes
2015–2017	Teacup Travels	Great Aunt Lizzie	45 episodes
2017	Diana and I	Mrs McDonald	TV movie
2019–2022	Gentleman Jack	Aunt Anne Lister	16 episodes
2020	Cold Feet	Heather Childs	1 episode
2020	The Crown	Penelope Carter	Episode: "The Hereditary Principle"
2021	Finding Alice	Minnie	6 episodes
2023	The Reckoning	Agnes Savile	2 episodes
2024	Murder, They Hope	Brenda	1 episode

Video games

Year	Title	Role
2018	Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery	Madam Pomfrey (voice)

Other projects, contributions

• When Love Speaks (2002, EMI Classics) – Shakespeare's "Sonnet 50" ("How heavy do I journey on the way")

External links

• Gemma Jones at IMDb

• Gemma Jones at Theatricala