Cast of the series 'Shameless,' 'Room 104,' 'Unbelievable'

Alison Jaye | Biography 2021

Jaye had voiced the video game character Mila in the 2019 video game 'Apex Legends'

• By Reena Chikanbanjar
• Update : September 16, 2021

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Alison Jaye is an American actress best known for her roles in the series ‘Shameless,’ ‘Room 104,’ and ‘Unbelievable.’ 

Who is Alison Jaye?

Alison Jaye is a theatre, television, and film actress. She began her acting career at a young age, initially appearing in theatre plays. Alison has performed on Broadway musicals such as Sunday in the Park With George and Mary Poppins in the late 2010s. She has also performed in several other plays including, Amazing Grace The Musical, The Kid Who Would Be Pope and American Jane. 

Jaye’s short film credits include Yara with the Long Blond Braid (2011), Touching is Teaching (2014), Sexy (2015), and Chosen (2019). She rose to fame after appearing in a recurring role in the mini-series, Unbelievable in 2019 and Shameless in 2020. She has also guest-starred in an episode of Room 104 in 2020.

Early Bio

Alison Jaye Horowitz was born on 20 May 1996. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California’s School of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, California.

Theatre Career

Jaye made her Broadway debut in 2008 when she was cast in the role of Louise/Bather in Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park With George. The following year, she portrayed the role of Jane Banks in the Broadway production of Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam Theatre.

In 2011, she played Elizabeth McPetty in The Kid Who Would Be Pope at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. In the spring of 2012, she played the role of Young Mary in the pre-Broadway workshop of the musical called Amazing Grace The Musical. She later performed in the productions of Shrek The Musical, The Titans, The Last Meal, American Jane, and Arcada. Jaye had performed in over a dozen theatre plays to date.

Short Films

Alison Jaye appeared in a string of short films during her early career. In 2011, she starred in the short family drama Yara with the Long Blond Braid, in which she played the role of an 11-year-old Syrian girl named Yara. That year, Jaye also voiced the character Amanda Wilks, in the short crime drama Dead Night. In 2014, she appeared as Annie in the short horror-comedy Total Freak and as Edie in the award-winning short romantic drama Touching is Teaching. The following year, Jaye played the role of Jess in the short comedy-drama Sexy. She then starred in the role of Alice Cook in the short drama Elle in 2016. Two years later, she played the role of Mags in the short drama American Made. 

In 2019, she starred in the short horror Chosen, in which she played the lead role of a curious young Hasidic woman named Atara. Jaye also starred in the role of Alex in the short thriller Blind Vacation alongside Christie Claude. Written and directed by Serena Reynolds, Blind Vacation was completed in 2019 and was premiered online in 2020.

Films

Jaye made her big-screen debut in a supporting role of Katie in the 2014 drama film Beach Pillows, written and directed by Sean Hartofilis. She will appear in the role of Sandra in the upcoming historical drama film Call Jane. She will also be seen in the upcoming thriller film Aimee as Mika. Both of these movies are in their post-production phase.

‘Unbelievable’

Jaye first appeared on television in 2019 when she was cast in a recurring role of Nicole in the CBS Television Studios/Netflix crime drama television mini-series Unbelievable. Premiered on 13 September 2019, the mini-series ran for eight episodes, of which Jaye appeared in three episodes. The mini-series was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning article titled ‘An Unbelievable Story of Rape’ co-written by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong. The article was co-published with The Marshall Project on ProPublica on 16 December 2015.

‘Shameless’

Alison joined the cast of Showtime comedy-drama television series Shameless in its 10th season in January 2020. On Shameless, she played the role of Julia Nicole, daughter of Claudia Nicolo (played by Constance Zimmer). Developed for American television by John Wells, Shameless was adapted from Paul Abbott’s British series of the same name. 

In September 2020, she guest-starred in the role of Morgan in an episode titled ‘Foam Party’ of the HBO fantasy comedy-drama Room 104, directed by Natalie Morales.

She then reprised the role of Julia Nicolo in an episode of Shameless’ retrospective series called Shameless Hall of Shame. The episode was titled ‘Debbie, Carl & Liam: They Grow Up So Fast,’ and it premiered on 24 January 2021.

Additional Works

Jaye had done many commercials. In May 2018, she was represented by KMR Talent Agency’s Jamie Hernandez, Alicia Ruskin, and Valerie Chiovetti for commercials in Los Angeles. She soon booked a Jiffy Lube national commercial and a Toyota commercial. 

In December 2018, Jaye filmed a fashion video of the television personality and fashion designer Nicole Richie for the latter's new clothing line, Honey Minx. In May 2019, Jaye signed a Verizon national commercial. A couple of months later, she signed with Stewart Talent Agency under the representation of Ellen Drantch-Billet in Los Angeles and Don Birge in New York.

In addition, Jaye starred in Loren Cole’s music video titled ‘Often’ in February 2018. Furthermore, Jaye had voiced the video game character Mila in the 2019 video game Apex Legends.

Awards and Recognitions

For her outstanding role as Atara in Chosen, Jaye won the ‘Best Drama Actress’ at the Catalyst Film Festival in 2019.