During the 1960s, Gemma Jones performed with companies at regional theatres including the
Nottingham Playhouse,
Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Little Theatre, Bristol. In 1962 she appeared at the
Mermaid Theatre as Gilda in the original stage production of
Alfie. In the 1970s, Jones performed in productions with the
National Theatre at the
Old Vic and with the
Royal Shakespeare Company as Hippolyta/Titania. Jones made many further performances in classical and contemporary plays with the
RSC in the 1980s and 1990s, including appearances in separate productions of
The Winters Tale as both Hermione (1981) and a decade later as Paulina (1993). In 1986, she played the soprano
Giuseppina Strepponi in
After Aida at the
Old Vic Theatre. On television Jones became known to viewers after starring in the BBC serial
Kenilworth (1967) as
Queen Elizabeth I, and in
BBC 2's 1970 dramatisation of
The Spoils of Poynton. She was first recognised outside the UK in the mid-1970s, after playing the
Empress Frederick in the
BBC television drama series
Fall of Eagles and Louisa Trotter in another BBC drama,
The Duchess of Duke Street. In 1980, she played the role of
Portia in the
BBC Television Shakespeare production of
The Merchant of Venice, opposite
Warren Mitchell's
Shylock. Jones was nominated for the
Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play for
And a Nightingale Sang in
1979. Jones played Madeleine de Brou in the 1971 Ken Russell film
The Devils. She played Mrs. Dashwood alongside
Kate Winslet,
Alan Rickman and
Emma Thompson in the
Academy Award-winning period drama
Sense and Sensibility (1995). Her other notable roles include Mrs. Fairfax in
Jane Eyre (1997), Lady Queensbury in
Wilde (1997), Grace Winslow in
The Winslow Boy (1999), Bridget's mother Pamela Jones in ''
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and Poppy Pomfrey in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), reprising her role in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2'' (2011). From 2007 to 2008, she played
Connie James in the BBC1 drama
Spooks. She appeared in the
Woody Allen film
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger in 2010. In 2011, she appeared in the BBC1 series
Merlin, as the Cailleach, the gatekeeper to the spirit world. Also in 2011 she appeared in the Bridge Project's version of
Richard III as Queen Margaret, alongside
Kevin Spacey as Richard III and directed by
Sam Mendes, at the
Old Vic and subsequently on an international tour. She received the
British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of
Neil Baldwin's mother, Mary, in the 2014 television film
Marvellous. In 2015, Jones played the part of Petunia Howe in the three-part BBC series
Capital, based on John Lanchester's
novel of the same name. In the 2018 BBC Radio 4 production of
The Importance of Being Earnest Jones played the part of Lady Augusta Bracknell. Jones has twice played the same part of
Anne Lister's aunt, first in the 2010 BBC telefilm
The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister and again in the 2019-2022 BBC/HBO programme
Gentleman Jack. ==Filmography==