Jessica Hynes
Acting • Born 1972-10-30
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.
Filmography
116 credits
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Movie • 2007
Mafalda Hopkirk (voice)
Shaun of the Dead
Movie • 2004
Yvonne
Magicians
Movie • 2007
Linda Jones
Confetti
Movie • 2006
Sam (as Jessica Stevenson)
Catching the Bus
Movie • 2021
Marion
Son of Rambow
Movie • 2007
Mary Proudfoot
A Brush With Comedy
Movie • 2023
Self
Faintheart
Movie • 2009
Cath
Burke & Hare
Movie • 2010
Lucky
Pinochet in Suburbia
Movie • 2006
WPC Broughton
Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger!
Movie • 2012
Angel Matthews
Learners
Movie • 2007
Beverley
Spaced: Skip to the End
Movie • 2004
Self
Roald Dahl's Most Marvellous Book
Movie • 2016
Self
Hollywood's Dark Secret
Movie • 2019
Self
Death of a Unicorn
Movie • 2025
Shaw
Pudsey the Dog: The Movie
Movie • 2014
Gail
Friday Night Dinner: 10 Years and a Lovely Bit of Squirrel
Movie • 2021
Self
Rapture
Movie • 2023
Seize Them!
Movie • 2024
Leofwine
The Lost Explorer
Movie • 2010
Lizzie and Sarah
Movie • 2010
Sarah/Ellie
Cider with Rosie
Movie • 2015
Crabby
Tomorrow La Scala!
Movie • 2002
Victoria (as Jessica Stevenson)
Four Last Songs
Movie • 2007
Miranda
Comic Aid
Movie • 2005
Herself - Presenter
The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball in the Hall
Movie • 2006
Self
Swallows and Amazons
Movie • 2016
Mrs. Jackson
Winter
Movie • 2015
Claudia
Bridget Jones's Baby
Movie • 2016
Magda
Born Romantic
Movie • 2000
Libby
Pure
Movie • 2002
Paramedic (as Jessica Stevenson)
The Baby of Mâcon
Movie • 1993
The First Midwife (as Jessica Stevenson)
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Movie • 2004
Magda
The Fight
Movie • 2019
Tina Bell
Shelter
Movie • 2017
Wendie
Chalet Girl
Movie • 2011
Interviewer 2
Paddington 2
Movie • 2017
Miss Kitts
The Angina Monologues
Movie • 2010
Herself/Sarah
Songbird
Movie • 2018
Sara
Swing Kids
Movie • 1993
Helga
Nativity Rocks!
Movie • 2018
Angel Matthews
Miranda: My Such Fun Celebration
Movie • 2020
Self
Dick Whittington: The ITV Pantomime
Movie • 2002
The Good Fairy (as Jessica Stevenson)
Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse
Movie • 2020
Sofie Dahl
The Royle Family: Joe's Crackers
Movie • 2010
Cheryl
The Golden Egg Cup
Movie • 2009
Cheryl Carroll
The Royle Family: Behind the Sofa
Movie • 2010
Self
Seagull
Movie • 2019
Janet
We Love Sitcom
Movie • 2016
Paddington in Peru
Movie • 2024
Miss Kitts
Spaced
TV • 1999
Daisy Steiner
Doctor Who Confidential
TV • 2005
QI
TV • 2003
Self
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
TV • 2001
Self
Room 101
TV • 1994
Self
Asylum
TV • 1996
Martha
The Ranganation
TV • 2019
Self
Unnatural Acts
TV • 1998
Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)
TV • 2000
8 Out of 10 Cats
TV • 2005
Self
The Royle Family
TV • 1998
Cheryl Carroll
According to Bex
TV • 2005
Bob & Rose
TV • 2001
Holly Vance
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer
TV • 2018
Self - Guest
Bosom Pals
TV • 2004
Jack and Dean of All Trades
TV • 2016
Marv (voice)
One Night
TV • 2012
Carol
Justin Lee Collins: Good Times
TV • 2010
Self
Doctor Who
TV • 2005
Joan Redfern
Twenty Twelve
TV • 2011
Siobhan Sharpe
Midsomer Murders
TV • 1997
Judith Lessiter
Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round
TV • 1998
Up the Women
TV • 2013
Margaret
W1A
TV • 2014
Siobhan Sharpe
Artsnight
TV • 2015
Self
Mash and Peas
TV • 1996
People Like Us
TV • 1999
Sarah
All Star Musicals
TV • 2017
Self - Performer
Hooten & The Lady
TV • 2016
Ella Bond
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
TV • 2014
Self
Travel Man: 48 Hours in...
TV • 2015
Self - Guest
The Witchfinder
TV • 2022
Old Myers
Life After Life
TV • 2022
Mrs Glover
Six Pairs of Pants
TV • 1995
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
TV • 2013
Self
Duck Quacks Don't Echo
TV • 2014
British Film Forever
TV • 2007
Narrator
Inside No. 9
TV • 2014
Helen
Miss Austen
TV • 2025
Mary Austen
Tears Before Bedtime
TV • 1995
Maggie
Gadget Man
TV • 2012
Black Books
TV • 2000
Eva
World's Most Dangerous Roads
TV • 2011
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
TV • 1996
Self
Would I Lie to You?
TV • 2007
Self
Insert Name Here
TV • 2016
Self - Panelist
There She Goes
TV • 2018
Emily
Dara O Briain's Science Club
TV • 2012
Herself
Mood
TV • 2022
Laura
Years and Years
TV • 2019
Edith Lyons
Blandings
TV • 2013
Lady Daphne Littlewood
David Mitchell's Outsiders
TV • 2021
Self
The Franchise
TV • 2024
Steph Mundun
The Graham Norton Show
TV • 2007
Self
The House of Eliott
TV • 1991
Charlotte Parker
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin
TV • 2024
The Reddlehag
Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly)
TV • 2014
Self
Hang Ups
TV • 2018
Katherine Pitt
The Last Leg
TV • 2013
Self
Skins
TV • 2007
Crystal
Crown Prosecutor
TV • 1995
Jackie South
Celebrity Advice Bureau
TV • 2016
Self
Crackanory
TV • 2013
Self
Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig
TV • 2021
Self
Patience
TV • 2025
DI Frankie Monroe