Annie Jones (born Annika Jancso; 13 January 1967) is an Australian actress, known for her roles in soap operas and serials, most especially Sons and Daughters as Jess Campbell, in Neighbours as Jane Harris and Newlyweds as Allie Carter. She has won two Logie Awards.
Early life
Born Annika Jancso on 13 January 1967,[1] Jones' parents were Hungarian immigrants, who met when in Adelaide and married after her father found employment as an opal miner. She has three older sisters. The family spent many years in Coober Pedy.[2]
Career
Professionally taking the stage name Annie Jones, she undertook some modelling, including an appearance in the music video for the Huxton Creepers song "Pretty Flamingo" in 1987.[3] Jones began acting at aged 17 in the title role in the film drama Run Chrissie Run! She then appeared in television roles on The Henderson Kids (1985), and Sons and Daughters (1985–1986) as Jesse Campbell.[4]
Post-Neighbours in 1990, Jones played Lorna Jackson, an opal miner's daughter and brief love interest for Dr David Radclife (Brett Climo), in an episode of TV series The Flying Doctors.[8] She also played Clare Mallory in the drama miniseries Jackaroo,[8] which won her a second Logie Award for Most Popular Actress in a Telemovie or Mini-series in 1991.[9] She also starred as Eva Kovac in the historical mini-series Snowy (1993).[10]
Jones played mother Sue Green in children's television series Pig's Breakfast,[12] and appeared in the Mortified episode "Mother in the Nude" (2006).[13]
In April 2018, she reprised the role of Jane Harris in Neighbours.[16] In 2019, Jones starred as Colleen Cotterill in Seven Network's Secret Bridesmaids' Business, which was based on the stage play by Elizabeth Coleman.[20] On 27 June 2020, it was announced that Jones had reprised the Neighbours role as a permanent cast member and she remained in the role until the show's then final episode on 28 July 2022. The series was later picked up by streaming service Amazon Freevee and Jones was confirmed to be reprising her role in February 2023.[21]
Personal life
Jones has been married to director Paul Moloney since 1989. The couple met on the set of The Henderson Kids.[1]
After leaving Neighbours in 1989, Jones put her acting career on hold to take care of her mother, who had Alzheimer's disease.[22] Jones stated "She had the disease for many, many years and I became her carer. Anyone who has had anything to do with Alzheimer's or dementia will know what it's like. It's heart-breaking, seeing someone disappear before your eyes. Because of that, I had neither the time nor the energy to commit to a long-running series and could only do guest roles here and there."[22]
