Jones began acting at the age of 11 at after-school workshop
Central Junior Television, which was funded by
Central Television. In 2003, she starred as Grace May in the BBC drama
Servants. She took the leading role in the 2007
ITV adaptation of
Jane Austen's
Northanger Abbey, and starred in
Polly Stenham's
That Face at the
Royal Court Theatre in April 2007. In 2008, Jones appeared in the films
Brideshead Revisited and
Flashbacks of a Fool, the
Doctor Who episode "
The Unicorn and the Wasp" and a revival of
Enid Bagnold's
The Chalk Garden at the
Donmar Warehouse theatre in London. In January 2009, the five-part TV serial
The Diary of Anne Frank, in which Jones played the role of
Margot Frank alongside
Tamsin Greig (as
Edith Frank-Holländer) and
Iain Glen (as
Otto Frank), was broadcast on
BBC One. Later that year in May, she performed in a rehearsed reading of
Anthony Minghella's
Hang Up at the High Tide Festival. Jones played the role of Julie in
Ricky Gervais and
Stephen Merchant's 2010 film
Cemetery Junction. She appeared in
Soulboy and in
Julie Taymor's big screen adaptation of
The Tempest as
Miranda. On 29 January 2011, Jones won a Special Jury Prize (Dramatic) at the
Sundance Film Festival for her performance as Anna in
Drake Doremus's
Like Crazy. Jones appeared alongside
Ed Westwick in
Chalet Girl, a romantic comedy released in March 2011, for which she had to undergo two months of
snowboarding training and work undercover in a chalet at
St Anton, scrubbing toilets and partying at the Krazy Kanguruh bar in preparation for the role. Jones lived with a
Catholic family and attended
Mass to prepare for the role. and
InStyle 2014 TIFF Celebration In 2013, Jones portrayed
Ellen Ternan in
The Invisible Woman. Jones, previously unfamiliar with Ternan, learned about her life through research, and reflected that she knew she was "in for a challenge" when choosing to work on the film, citing the experience of director
Ralph Fiennes and how "methodically done" his performance was. She appeared in
The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which was released on 2 May 2014. She played
Felicia Hardy; an assistant of
Harry Osborn. Jones signed on due to its difference from her previous works. In 2014, Jones portrayed
Jane Wilde Hawking in the film
The Theory of Everything, a biopic charting the life and love between Wilde Hawking and physicist
Stephen Hawking, with
Eddie Redmayne starring as Hawking. After being given the script by her agent, Jones read it in its entirety in one sitting, and said that she enjoyed that it was a "love story and not a straightforward biopic." She auditioned for the film and its director,
James Marsh, offered her the part immediately after. Jones met with Jane Hawking in preparing for the role. Jane Hawking was so impressed by the portrayal she wondered if it was herself when watching Jones. the
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, the
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress, the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, and the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. In February 2015, she was cast as
Jyn Erso in the
Star Wars stand-alone film
Rogue One, with
Gareth Edwards directing. Jones's agent recommended the role to her, and she enjoyed the character's search for an identity, drawing inspiration in her movements from
Ronda Rousey. The film was released in December 2016 to positive reviews and grossed over $1 billion at the box office. Also in 2016, Jones starred in
Inferno, playing a doctor aiding
Robert Langdon in his escape. After agreeing to the role, she visited museums and galleries to understand her character better. Jones enjoyed the chemistry between her and
Tom Hanks's characters as well as
Inferno's overall diversity. In 2017, Jones was announced as a global brand ambassador for
Clé de Peau Beauté. In late 2018, Jones starred in
On the Basis of Sex, a biography of United States Supreme Court Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, directed by
Mimi Leder and co-starring
Armie Hammer and
Justin Theroux. She reunited on-screen with Redmayne in the biographical adventure
The Aeronauts (2019), joined
George Clooney in
Netflix's science fiction film
The Midnight Sky (2020), and starred in the romantic drama
The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021), an adaptation of
Jojo Moyes' 2011 novel of the same name. Jones starred in the thriller
Dead Shot, alongside
Aml Ameen,
Mark Strong and
Sophia Brown, in 2023. In May 2022, it was announced that she would lead
Simon Amstell's comedy
Maria, co-starring
Jonathan Bailey. However, both Jones and Bailey were reported as having departed from the project in April 2024. Jones appeared in the 2024 film
The Brutalist, portraying the Holocaust-survivor wife of the central character, for which she received a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. == Personal life ==