Jessica Hynes
Acting
Biography
Jessica Hynes (née Stevenson) is a British actress, director and writer. Best known as a comedy actress, she has played Cheryl in The Royle Family (1998–2010), Siobhan Sharpe in Twenty Twelve (2011–2012) and W1A (2014–2017) and Emily Yates in There She Goes (2018–2023). She was also one of the stars, creators and writers of Spaced (1999–2001). She has also had starring roles in television film Tomorrow La Scala! and BBC dramas Years and Years (2019) and Miss Austen (2025). In film, Hynes has appeared in the Bridget Jones (2004–2016), Nativity (2012–2018) and Paddington (2017–2024) film series. Hynes has been nominated for two International Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, five BAFTAs (winning two), three Royal Television Society Awards (winning two) and three British Comedy Awards (winning two). Hynes was born in Lewisham, London, and grew up in Brighton, where she attended St Luke's Infant and Junior Schools and Dorothy Stringer High School. After her parents split up, she was raised by her mother. She moved back to London as a young adult. Her maternal grandmother came from the village of Llanelian, north Wales, where her uncle also ran a farm. Her mother is a fluent Welsh speaker who later moved back to north Wales. In 2023, Hynes took part in the S4C series Iaith ar Daith where she began to learn the Welsh language; she cited being able to speak Welsh to her mother as a reason why she wanted to take part in the programme. Early in her career, Hynes teamed up with future Spaced co-star Katy Carmichael in a comedy double-act called the Liz Hurleys, appeared in two productions at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, and acted for television shows including Staying Alive, Six Pairs of Pants, (Un)natural Acts, and Asylum (on which the Spaced team of Hynes, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright first assembled). From 1998 to 2000, she played the supporting role of Cheryl in the hit sitcom The Royle Family; she reprised the role for special episodes in 2006, 2009 and 2010. In 1999, she co-wrote and starred in Spaced, for which she won two comedy awards and was nominated for an International Emmy and a Bafta for writing and creating the show alongside Simon Pegg. In 2017 , she directed her first feature film, The Fight, produced by Jamie Adams and Unstoppable media. In 2018, she played the role of a mother in the BBC Four programme There She Goes. She stars alongside David Tennant, raising a daughter with a severe learning disability. It is based on the real life of writer Shaun Pye and his wife Sarah Crawford whose daughter was born with a chromosomal disorder. She won a Bafta for her role in the series and was nominated for an International Emmy for her role in '414' the special made in 2023. In 2019, she starred in the BBC and HBO production Years and Years for which she won a Royal Television Society award.
Born: October 30, 1972
Place of Birth: Lewisham, London, England, UK
Known For
Filmography
as Shaw
as Mary Austen
as Miss Kitts
as Steph Mundun
as Leofwine
as The Reddlehag
as Self
as Mrs Glover
as Old Myers
as Laura
as Self
as Marion
as Sofie Dahl
as Janet
as Self
as Self
as Edith Lyons
as Tina Bell
as Angel Matthews
as Emily
as Katherine Pitt
as Sara
as Self - Guest
as Miss Kitts
as Wendie
as Ella Bond
as Magda
as Mrs. Jackson
as Marv (voice)
as Self - Panelist
as Crabby
as Claudia
as Self - Guest
as Gail
as Self
as Siobhan Sharpe
as Helen
as Self
as Margaret
as Self
as Lady Daphne Littlewood
as Angel Matthews
as Herself
as Carol
as Siobhan Sharpe
as Interviewer 2
as Cheryl
as Lucky
as Sarah/Ellie
as Cheryl Carroll
as Cath
as Beverley
as Narrator
as Mafalda Hopkirk (voice)
as Self
as Linda Jones
as Self
as Crystal
as Mary Proudfoot
as Miranda
as Sam (as Jessica Stevenson)
as WPC Broughton
as Self
as Joan Redfern
as Self
as Yvonne
as Self
as Victoria (as Jessica Stevenson)
as Paramedic (as Jessica Stevenson)
as The Good Fairy (as Jessica Stevenson)
as Holly Vance
as Eva
as Libby
as Daisy Steiner
as Sarah
as Cheryl Carroll
as Judith Lessiter
as Self
as Martha
as Self
as The First Midwife (as Jessica Stevenson)
as Helga
as Charlotte Parker