Meet Felicity Jones, the breakout star of the new 'Star Wars' movie
Jones grew up in Birmingham, England, where she was encouraged to get into acting by her uncle, actor Michael Hadley (“Pirate Radio”). Her first role was at age 12 in the 1996 UK TV movie “The Treasure Seekers,” co-starring Keira Knightley.
From 1998 to 2001 she starred in the popular UK shows "The Worst Witch" and its follow-up, "Weirdsister College." She went back to school and graduated from Wadham College in 2006.
Jones soon went back to work on TV. She made an appearance on an episode of "Doctor Who" in 2008, and popped up in movies like 2009’s "Cheri" with Michelle Pfeiffer, as well as 2010’s "The Tempest," alongside Helen Mirren.
Her career took off in the beginning of 2011 when she starred in that year’s Sundance Film Festival Grand Prize winner "Like Crazy."
In the relationship drama, she starred opposite Anton Yelchin, who died tragically in 2016. The two improvised almost all of their dialogue playing a couple in and out of love.
While adding to her indie-film resume, Jones showed up in a season-three episode of HBO's "Girls" in 2014, having a shouting match with the character Jessa.
That same year she also starred in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," playing Harry Osborn's (aka Green Goblin) assistant.
Later that year, she played Stephen Hawking’s wife, Jane, in the critically acclaimed biopic "The Theory of Everything." Eddie Redmayne won the best actor Oscar for playing Stephen Hawking.
The film got her Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations for Best Actress.
Earlier this year she starred opposite Tom Hanks in the thriller "Inferno," based on the novel by "The Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown.
Jones stars in the acclaimed "A Monster Calls" (out on Christmas weekend), playing a mother who has terminal cancer.
But first she plays Jyn in "Rogue One," a hard-edged loner tasked with stealing the plans to the Death Star. The "Star Wars" spin-off takes place before the events of "A New Hope."
The role has made her a global star overnight. We can't wait to see what she does next.
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