Jessica Hynes

Known for ActingBorn 1972-10-30 (age 53)Lewisham, London, England, UK

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.Read more

Movies & web series

Jack and Dean of All Trades

Catching the Bus

The Royle Family: Behind the Sofa

Dara O Briain's Science Club

There She Goes

A Brush with Comedy

People Like Us

Skins

Inside No. 9

All Star Musicals

Roald Dahl's Most Marvellous Book

Doctor Who Confidential

The Golden Egg Cup

The Mighty Boosh: A Journey Through Time and Space

Black Books

Bosom Pals

Tomorrow La Scala!

Dick Whittington: The ITV Pantomime

One Night

Friday Night Dinner: 10 Years and a Lovely Bit of Squirrel

QI

Spaced

W1A

Would I Lie to You?

Years and Years

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The Royle Family

Doctor Who

Paddington 2

Shaun of the Dead

Patience

World's Most Dangerous Roads

Twenty Twelve

Lizzie and Sarah

Midsomer Murders

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled

Blandings

The Royle Family: Joe's Crackers

Unnatural Acts

The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer

The Graham Norton Show

Life After Life

8 Out of 10 Cats

Hooten & The Lady

Shelter

Gadget Man

Paddington in Peru