Jodie Turner-Smith facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jodie Turner-Smith
Turner-Smith in 2020
Born	(1986-09-07) 7 September 1986 (age 38) Peterborough, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2013–present
Spouse(s)	Joshua Jackson ​ ​ (m. 2019; sep. 2023)​
Children	1

Jodie Turner-Smith (born 7 September 1986) is a British actress. She made her feature film debut in The Neon Demon (2016) and has since acted in Queen & Slim (2019), After Yang (2022), and White Noise (2022). She is also known for her television roles in the TNT series The Last Ship (2017), the Syfy series Nightflyers (2018), and for portraying the title role in the Channel 5 series Anne Boleyn (2021).

Early life

Turner-Smith was born on 7 September 1986 in Peterborough, England to Jamaican parents; she is the only one of her siblings who was not born in Jamaica. She resided in Peterborough until she was 10 years old. After her parents divorced, she emigrated to the United States with her mother, brother and half-sister, residing in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Turner-Smith studied finance at the University of Pittsburgh; she graduated in 2008 and subsequently worked at a bank. She has lived in Los Angeles since 2009.

Career

In 2009, a mutual friend introduced Turner-Smith to musician Pharrell Williams after a N.E.R.D. concert. When she told him she was looking to become a writer, he convinced her to become a model and move to Los Angeles.

She made her acting debut in 2013 as a siren in True Blood, which led to numerous minor roles in films and music videos between 2013 and 2017. During this time, she was credited as Jodie Smith. In 2016, she appeared in the music video for Zayn Malik's "Pillowtalk."

Turner-Smith first came to prominence playing Sgt. Azima Kandie in the 2017–2018 season of the TNT series The Last Ship. She had a major role as Melantha Jhirl in the 2018 Syfy/Netflix series Nightflyers.

She played Josie in the Cinemax series Jett, which premiered in June 2019, and starred in the 2019 film Queen & Slim opposite Daniel Kaluuya.

In October 2020, it was announced that Turner-Smith would be portraying Queen Anne Boleyn in Anne Boleyn, a three-part drama series on Channel 5, which details the final months of Boleyn's life. Her casting was met with backlash due to her race. The series premiered in May 2021, with Turner-Smith's performance receiving praise.

In January 2021, it was announced that she was cast as Éile, a warrior blessed with the voice of a goddess, in The Witcher: Blood Origin, a six-episode limited series prequel to The Witcher. In April 2021, Netflix announced that she had departed the project due to scheduling conflicts and a change in the production schedule.

Turner-Smith starred in Kogonada’s sci-fi drama After Yang alongside Colin Farrell. The film was released in March 2022. In September 2022, she joined the Star Wars Disney+ series The Acolyte.

In June 2023, it was announced that Turner-Smith would join the cast of Tron: Ares alongside Jared Leto.

Personal life

Turner-Smith began a relationship with actor Joshua Jackson in October 2018. They married in late 2019 and their daughter was born in April 2020. In October 2023, it was revealed that Turner-Smith had filed for divorce from Jackson.

In 2019, Turner-Smith expressed ambivalence about becoming an American citizen but said she would consider doing so.

Filmography

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2016	The Neon Demon	Roberta Hoffmann's assistant
2017	Lemon	Beverly
	Newness	Statuesque woman
2019	Queen & Slim	Angela "Queen" Johnson
2021	Without Remorse	Karen Greer
	After Yang	Kyra
2022	White Noise	Winnie Richards
	The Independent	Elisha "Eli" James
2023	Murder Mystery 2	Countess Sekou
2025	A Big Bold Beautiful Journey		Filming
	Tron: Ares	Athena	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2013	True Blood	Siren #2	4 episodes
2015–2016	Mad Dogs	Angel	2 episodes
2016	Ice	Lady Rah's masseuse	1 episode
2017–2018	The Last Ship	Sgt. Azima Kandie	20 episodes
2018	Nightflyers	Melantha Jhirl	10 episodes
2019	Jett	Josie	9 episodes
2021	Anne Boleyn	Anne Boleyn	3 episodes
2023	Sex Education	God	Recurring role
2024	The Acolyte	Mother Aniseya	3 episodes
2024	Bad Monkey	Dragon Queen/Gracie	Main role; airing
2025	The Agency	Sami Zahir	In production

Music video

See also

In Spanish: Jodie Turner-Smith para niños