# Emilia Jones
**Emilia Jones** is a British actress best known for playing Ruby Rossi, the hearing daughter in a Deaf fishing family, in the 2021 film *CODA*, which won the [Academy Award for Best Picture](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-picture), and for starring as Kinsey Locke in the Netflix series *Locke & Key* (2020–2022). Born in London in 2002, she began acting at the age of eight and has since moved between British television, West End theater, and American film and television.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223) • [2](https://www.fyc.com/people/emilia-jones)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2002, London, England[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223) |
| Breakthrough role | Ruby Rossi in *CODA* (2021), winner of the 2022 Academy Award for Best Picture[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223) • [3](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2022) |
| Preparation for *CODA* | Nine months learning American Sign Language and a New England accent; all her singing recorded live on set[4](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/08/coda-emilia-jones-interview) • [5](https://www.vogue.com/article/emilia-jones-coda-interview) |
| Recognition for *CODA* | BAFTA nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role; Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Breakthrough Performer; Sundance Special Jury Ensemble Award[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223) • [6](https://argtalent.com/emilia-jones/) |
| Television leads | Kinsey Locke in *Locke & Key* (2020–2022, 28 episodes); Maeve Prendergrast in HBO's *Task* (2025)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223) • [6](https://argtalent.com/emilia-jones/) |
| Upcoming | Gabby Clemente in Netflix's *The Retrievals*, from *Maid* and *Sirens* creator Molly Smith Metzler[7](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/tv-shows/emilia-jones-the-retrievals-cast-netflix/) |
## Early life and start in acting
Jones grew up in South West London, the daughter of the singer and BBC and ITV presenter [Aled Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/aled-jones) and a circus performer mother.[4](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/08/coda-emilia-jones-interview) • [8](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/emilia-jones-task) She credits her first professional job to being noticed by casting director Lucy Bevan at a local improvisational games class when she was eight. That led to a role as Jasmine in the 2011 film *One Day*, opposite [Anne Hathaway](https://www.edgepedia.org/anne-hathaway) and [Jim Sturgess](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-sturgess), and shortly afterward a part as the English Girl in *Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides*.[8](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/emilia-jones-task) • [9](https://cinegraph.org/people/emilia-jones)
Through her childhood she worked steadily in British television and theater. Her early credits include the recurring role of young Sarah Frobisher-Smythe in *House of Anubis* (2011), Merry in an episode of *Doctor Who* (2012), Alice in two series of *Utopia*, and Anne Cromwell in *Wolf Hall* (2015).[10](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/31183/emilia-jones) • [11](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-533004/filmographie/) On stage she appeared as an alternate Young Fiona and Young Shrek in the original West End production of *Shrek the Musical* (2011) and as an alternate Flora in *The Turn of the Screw* at the Almeida Theatre (2013); she has also performed at the Young Vic and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.[12](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Emilia-Jones/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223) Her film work in this period included small parts in [Paolo Sorrentino](https://www.edgepedia.org/paolo-sorrentino)'s *Youth* (2015), [Ben Wheatley](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-wheatley)'s *High-Rise* (2015), Martin Koolhoven's *Brimstone* (2016), and *What We Did on Our Holiday* (2014).[9](https://cinegraph.org/people/emilia-jones) • [13](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621228742)
## CODA
*CODA*, written and directed by Siân Heder, is a remake of the 2014 French film *La Famille Bélier*. Jones plays Ruby Rossi, the only hearing member of a Deaf family running a fishing business in [Gloucester, Massachusetts](https://www.edgepedia.org/gloucester-massachusetts), who is torn between helping the family and pursuing singing.[14](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-08-13/coda-film-deaf-sign-language-hollywood) • [15](https://www.apple.com/uk/tv-pr/news/2021/08/coda-embodies-authentic-representation-onscreen/) Heder hired Jones, then known for *Locke & Key*, after Jones auditioned by copying a signed scene from a video and expressed a desire to learn [American Sign Language](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-sign-language).[5](https://www.vogue.com/article/emilia-jones-coda-interview) • [14](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-08-13/coda-film-deaf-sign-language-hollywood)
**Preparation.** Jones spent nine months learning ASL and a New England accent, trained by the ASL masters Alexandria Wailes and Anne Tomasetti, and worked with the Deaf Canadian actor Anselmo DeSousa while filming *Locke & Key* in Toronto.[4](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/08/coda-emilia-jones-interview) • [14](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-08-13/coda-film-deaf-sign-language-hollywood) On set she was not allowed to use an interpreter, which pushed her to sign faster and more often.[4](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/08/coda-emilia-jones-interview) She had never had a singing lesson before the film; all of her musical performances were recorded live on set.[5](https://www.vogue.com/article/emilia-jones-coda-interview) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223)
**Reception and awards.** *CODA* premiered at the 2021 [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival), where it swept the awards program, and Apple TV+ bought it for a record-breaking $25 million.[14](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-08-13/coda-film-deaf-sign-language-hollywood) At the 94th Academy Awards in March 2022 the film won Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, and [Troy Kotsur](https://www.edgepedia.org/troy-kotsur) won Best Supporting Actor.[3](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2022) Jones's performance earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role, the Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Breakthrough Performer, a Sundance Special Jury Ensemble Award, and a Hollywood Critics Association Award nomination for Best Actress.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223) • [6](https://argtalent.com/emilia-jones/) Her duet video from the film reached over 5 billion views on TikTok.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223)
## Television and later film work
Between 2020 and 2022 Jones led the Netflix fantasy-adventure series *Locke & Key* as Kinsey Locke, appearing in 28 episodes across three seasons.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223) She then moved through a run of varied film roles: Margot in the adaptation of Kristen Roupenian's short story *Cat Person* (2023), Alysia Abbott in *Fairyland*, Andrew Durham's adaptation of Abbott's memoir produced by [Sofia Coppola](https://www.edgepedia.org/sofia-coppola), and [Reality Winner](https://www.edgepedia.org/reality-winner) in [Susanna Fogel](https://www.edgepedia.org/susanna-fogel)'s *Winner* (2024).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223) • [8](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/emilia-jones-task)
In 2025 she played Maeve Prendergrast in Brad Ingelsby's HBO crime drama *Task*, opposite [Mark Ruffalo](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-ruffalo) and [Tom Pelphrey](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-pelphrey); she spent weeks with a dialect coach mastering the Delco accent of the Philadelphia area, and the role brought her a BAFTA TV Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.[8](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/emilia-jones-task) • [6](https://argtalent.com/emilia-jones/) Her 2025–2026 slate also included Amelia Williams in Edgar Wright's *The Running Man* (2025), the indie romance *Charlie Harper* (2026), which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired for U.S. distribution by Row K, and Nancy in Matt Johnson's Anthony Bourdain biopic *Tony* (2026).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223) • [8](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/emilia-jones-task)
## Upcoming projects
Jones will lead Netflix's *The Retrievals*, a drama from *Maid* and *Sirens* creator Molly Smith Metzler based on Susan Burton's Peabody Award-winning New York Times and Serial Productions podcast. The series dramatizes the 2020–2021 Yale Fertility Center scandal, in which a nurse stole fentanyl from patients undergoing egg retrieval procedures, and Jones plays Gabby Clemente, a New Haven bartender and student teacher who rallies the victims to lead a legal case against Yale. The series is produced by LuckyChap and Quiet Coyote, with Lila Neugebauer directing the pilot, and began shooting in New York and New Haven in 2026.[7](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/tv-shows/emilia-jones-the-retrievals-cast-netflix/) • [16](https://www.productionlist.com/production/the-retrievals) She is also attached to *The 99'ers*, a Netflix sports drama about the 1990s U.S. Women's National Soccer team in which she plays Julie Foudy, and *Bad Bridgets*, directed by Rich Peppiatt for LuckyChap.[7](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/tv-shows/emilia-jones-the-retrievals-cast-netflix/) • [6](https://argtalent.com/emilia-jones/)
## References
1. [Emilia Jones, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4454223)
2. [Emilia Jones, Filmography & What's Next, FYC](https://www.fyc.com/people/emilia-jones)
3. [The 94th Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2022)
4. [CODA's Emilia Jones Is Ready to Transform, Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/08/coda-emilia-jones-interview)
5. [Meet Emilia Jones, Star of the Heartwarming Hit of the Summer, Vogue](https://www.vogue.com/article/emilia-jones-coda-interview)
6. [Emilia Jones, ARG Talent](https://argtalent.com/emilia-jones/)
7. [Emilia Jones to Star in 'The Retrievals' Series at Netflix, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/tv-shows/emilia-jones-the-retrievals-cast-netflix/)
8. [Emilia Jones Is Everything Everywhere All at Once, Who What Wear](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/emilia-jones-task)
9. [Emilia Jones, Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/people/emilia-jones)
10. [Emilia Jones, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/31183/emilia-jones)
11. [Emilia Jones : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-533004/filmographie/)
12. [Emilia Jones, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Emilia-Jones/)
13. [Emilia Jones, Apple Snapshot](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621228742)
14. [The Deaf still face 'outright discrimination' in Hollywood. How 'CODA' broke the mold, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-08-13/coda-film-deaf-sign-language-hollywood)
15. ["CODA" embodies authentic representation onscreen, Apple TV Press](https://www.apple.com/uk/tv-pr/news/2021/08/coda-embodies-authentic-representation-onscreen/)
16. [The Retrievals, Production List](https://www.productionlist.com/production/the-retrievals)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames I to K*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license