Kaiya Jones

Kaiya Jones
Born (1996-03-19) 19 March 1996 (age 28)
Glasgow, Scotland
OccupationActress
Years active2005–present

Kaiya Jones (born 19 March 1996) is a Scottish-born Australian actress, best known for playing the role of Sophie Ramsay in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.[1] She previously played Jess Cooper in the third series of The Saddle Club. Jones wrote and directed a short film called Coping, which was screened at Tropfest in 2013. In 2014, she joined the cast of Party Tricks.

Early and personal life

Jones was born in Glasgow, Scotland but moved to Australia with her parents in 2005.[2] Jones studied at Preshil.[3] Her hobbies include acting, writing screenplays and stories, as well as writing her own songs and playing the guitar.[4] Jones is also a supporter of the Australian Orangutan Project which raises funds to support the protection and conservation of orangutans.[5]

Career

Jones played the role of Jess Cooper in The Saddle Club from 2008 to 2009.[6] In February 2009, it was announced Jones had been cast as Sophie Ramsay in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.[7][8] Jones began filming her first scenes with Neighbours in the same month.[8] Of her casting, Jones told Samantha Booth of the Daily Record, "Filming Neighbours is so much fun. I just love my job and wouldn't want to be doing anything else. The cast and crew are so kind and lovely. They are practically my second family now. They're also very patient".[8]

On 26 November 2012, it was announced that Jones would be leaving Neighbours. She made her screen exit the following year.[9] In 2013, Jones made a guest appearance as Poppy in an episode of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.[3] Jones has written and directed a short film called Coping, which focuses on three orphaned children who move in with their uncle.[10] Coping was one of 16 films selected to screen at Tropfest on 8 December 2013.[10] Jones was named Best Female Actor at the festival.[11] In 2014 Jones was cast in the miniseries Party Tricks.[3]

In 2017, Jones wrote and directed a short film called Jolly Roger which was shown at the St Kilda Film Festival on 22 May 2017.[12]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Coping Abigail Short film
Tropfest Award for Best Female Actor
Writer and director
2015 Alienation Short film
2014 Lean Young Jennifer Short film
2017 Jolly Roger Short film
Writer and director
2017 I Am Not Faye Short film

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2008–2009 The Saddle Club Jess Cooper Main cast
2009–2014 Neighbours Sophie Ramsay Main cast
2013 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Poppy Episode: "Marked for Murder"
2014 Party Tricks Matilda McLeod Main cast
2015 Footballer Wants a Wife Production Assistant/Substitute Episodes: "Pack Date" & "Slave to Love"
2016 The Doctor Blake Mysteries Robyn Dawson Episode: "Against the Odds"
2021 Harrow Madison Moreland Episode: "Ut Biberent Quoniam Esse Nollent"
2023 Turn Up the Volume Stevie Recurring role

See also

References

  1. ^ Official Site – The New Kids on the Street!. Neighbours (24 February 2009). Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  2. ^ Johnson, Alexandra (19 August 2009). "Neighbours soap star has Coltness roots". Wishaw Press. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Hawker, Philippa (21 May 2014). "Neighbours star Kaiya Jones puts toe in cold water in directing debut". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Neighbours: The Perfect Blend – Kaiya Jones". PerfectBlend. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  5. ^ Hall, Katrina (25 November 2010). "Christmas Stories". The Weekly Review. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  6. ^ The Saddle Club Characters. Jess Cooper. saddleclubtv.com
  7. ^ "Return of the Ramsays". Holy Soap. Archived from the original on 4 October 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  8. ^ a b c Booth, Samantha (3 September 2009). "Meet the Scots schoolgirl joining the cast of Neighbours". Daily Record. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  9. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (26 November 2012). "'Neighbours': Rhys, Andrew and Sophie to leave show". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  10. ^ a b Maddox, Gary (8 December 2013). "Kaiya Jones: Actor coping fine with Tropfest spotlight". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  11. ^ Bungard, Matt (9 December 2013). "Tropfest 2013: Matt Hardie and Bamboozled win top prize". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  12. ^ Jones, Kaiya [@KaiyaJ] (22 May 2017). "Melbournians! You can catch my newest short #JollyRoger at @stkildafilmfest tonight along with some wicked other wee films" (Tweet) – via Twitter.