Ruby Rossi in the 2021 Award-Winning Film 'CODA'

Emilia Jones | Biography

Famous for TV shows like 'Doctor Who,' 'Utopia,' & 'Wolf Hall'

• By Reena Chikanbanjar
• Update : January 30, 2022

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Emilia Jones is an actress best known for her starring role as Ruby Rossi in the 2021 coming-of-age comedy-drama film CODA.

Short Bio

Emilia Jones is an English actress and singer. Jones was born as the eldest of two children of singer/presenter Aled Jones and his wife Claire Fossett on 23 February 2002 in England. She has a younger brother named Lucas.

She began her acting career at age eight. Jones first appeared on television in 2011, portraying the role of Young Sarah Frobisher-Smythe in the television series House of Anubis. She also appeared in television series and miniseries Doctor Who, Utopia, Wolf Hall, and Residue. 

In 2020, she began portraying the role of Kinsey Locke, one of the main characters, in the fantasy horror drama series Locke & Key. Jones then landed her breakout role as Ruby Rossi in CODA the following year. 

Besides her television and film roles, she also performed in three West End theater productions. She played Young Fiona in the production of Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in 2011. She also played Flora in the Turn of the Screw production at the Almeida Theatre in 2013. The following year, she played Joan in the production of Far Away at the Young Vic.

Also Read: Christopher Eccleston - Doctor Who, Wife, Bio

'CODA'

CODA is an English-language remake of the 2014 French-language film La Famille Bélier. Written and directed by Sian Heder, CODA premiered at Sundance Film Festival on 29 January 2021. 

CODA made history as it became the first film in Sundance Film Festival's history to win four awards, including the 'Grand Jury Prize' and 'Audience Award.' 

The film also fascinated audiences and prompted a bidding war between buyers like Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and Searchlight at the festival. Apple ultimately paid a record-breaking $25 million for the worldwide rights to the film. After premiering in select theatres, CODA was released on AppleTV+ in August 2021.

Jones' Audition for 'CODA'

Jones was asked to audition for CODA while she was filming for another project. In an interview with IndieWire in January 2022, she recalled her journey to audition for the film. 

Jones said she was sent a script and asked to audition, but she was filming at the time. She was granted an extension after requesting one, but she became ill. She was also concerned since she was British, didn't speak sign language, and had never had a singing lesson.

However, Jones said she loved the script, story, and the Rossi family. She also got excited about the film as it was about a culture rarely seen on-screen. 

In another interview with Glamour in August 2021, Jones said she sent her audition tapes of speaking scenes and singing a song. She then went through a Skype session with the film's writer and director, Sian Heder, who asked her to copy a sign language video. After a lot of practice, she auditioned and earned the role in a couple of weeks.

Preparing for her Role in 'CODA'

Jones took American Sign Language (ASL) training on weekends for nine months to prepare herself for her role in CODA. She told Glamour that she took training from a deaf coach named Anselmo DeSousa. 

Jones said taking training from a deaf coach pushed her to learn ASL faster. Additionally, she also took singing lessons and learned to operate a professional fishing trawler.

Jones' Character in 'CODA'

Ruby Rossi, a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), is the only hearing member of her deaf family in the musical comedy-drama film CODA. Her family consists of her father Frank (played by Troy Kotsur), mother Jackie (played by Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin), and brother Leo (played by Daniel Durant).

Vanity Fair magazine describes Ruby as a plucky high schooler who is tough and tomboyish but always helps her family whenever they need her. She develops an interest in attending the Berklee College of Music and becoming a singer. 

However, Ruby faces trouble while acknowledging to her family that she wants to be a singer. She then finds herself torn between pursuing music and her fear of leaving her parents.

'Locke & Key'

Locke & Key is a fantasy horror drama television series created by Carlton Cuse, Meredith Averill, and Aron Eli Coleite and based on Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodrguez's comic book series of the same title. The first season aired on 7 February 2020. 

In December 2018, Jones was cast as Kinsey Locke, one of the main characters in the Netflix fantasy drama series Locke & Key. It was her first prominent appearance in a television series. Jones was drawn to the role of Kinsey by the potential of being able to play two different aspects of the same character: Kinsey before and after she overcomes her fear. 

"This, for me, was one of the best shoots I've ever done. The cast and crew are incredible and I absolutely adore them," she said about her role in an interview with ET.

Netflix confirmed in March 2020 that the show had been renewed for a second season, which was released on 22 October 2021. The horror drama was renewed for a third season in December 2020, before the second season's broadcast, and will air in 2022.

New Projects

Jones will appear in the upcoming psychological thriller film Cat Person, based on the viral New Yorker short story by Kristen Roupenian published in 2017. She will play Margot, a 20-year-old college sophomore who embarks on a series of progressively uncomfortable dates with a more senior man.

She didn't read the novel when it first came out; instead, a friend encouraged her to read it after she finished CODA. "I couldn't stop thinking about it, I couldn't stop talking about it," Jones says. "I talked about it with my mom, and then my mom read it and she was like, 'Oh, my gosh, I have a Cat Person story,'" Jones said in a 2021 interview with Vanity Fair.

Boyfriend

As of now, Jones hasn't revealed about her personal life or had any rumors of having a boyfriend.