Jess Robinson (born 1982/1983) is an English comedy actress, singer,

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passag ...

, voice artist and comedian.

Early life

Robinson was born in

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

, London, in a non-religious Jewish family, the daughter of a piano teacher and artist, and granddaughter of the jazz pianist, Jules Ruben. She grew up in Aldbury, Hertfordshire. Her mother is a teacher and her father was an artist. She attended the

Tring Park School for the Performing Arts Tring Park School for the Performing Arts is an independent co-educational school offering specialist courses in Dance, Commercial Music, Musical Theatre and Acting for 8–19 year olds. Originally known as the Arts Educational School, Tring Pa ...

Career

While still at school, Robinson first appeared on stage in the title role of Little Voice in ''

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice ''The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'' is a 1992 play written by English dramatist Jim Cartwright. Production history Sam Mendes directed the first production at the Royal National Theatre that transferred to the Aldwych Theatre in London's ...

'', by

Jim Cartwright Jim Cartwright (born 27 June 1958) is an English dramatist, born in Farnworth, Lancashire. Cartwright's first play, ''Road'', won a number of awards before being adapted for TV and broadcast by the BBC. His work has been translated into more ...

, at the Courtyard Theatre. Her role included imitating the voices of

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in ''The ...

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and ...

and

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy ...

. Geraldine McNulty appeared as her mother, Marie Hoff. She then went on to perform in the last two series of '' Dead Ringers'' on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

. She occasionally appeared as an impressionist but mostly played characters in various sketches to support the stars:

Jan Ravens Janet "Jan" Ravens (born 14 May 1958) is an English actress and impressionist, known for her voice work on ''Spitting Image'' and '' Dead Ringers''. Early life Ravens grew up in Hoylake, then in Cheshire, on the west side of the Wirral with he ...

Jon Culshaw Jonathan Peter Culshaw (born 2 June 1968) is an English actor, comedian and impressionist. He is best known for his work on the radio comedy '' Dead Ringers'' since 2000. Culshaw has voiced a number of characters for ITV shows including ''2DT ...

, Mark Perry, Kevin Connelly, and

Phil Cornwell Philip Cornwell (born 5 October 1957) is an English actor, comedian, impressionist and writer. He is part of the '' Dead Ringers'' television and radio series, and was the voice of Murdoc Niccals in the virtual band Gorillaz. Cornwell has co- ...

. In the ''Dead Ringers''

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

spin off 'Spoof!' (part of the

Gina's Laughing Gear Gina's Laughing Gear was a special programming slot which was presented by Gina Yashere. It was shown on Friday afternoons on BBC One and repeated on Saturday on the CBBC Channel. The purpose was to showcase new CBBC CBBC (initialised as Chi ...

comedy pilot season), Robinson appeared as

Supernanny ''Supernanny'' is a British reality television programme about parents struggling with their children's behaviour, mealtime, potty training, etc. The show features professional nanny Jo Frost, who devotes each episode to helping a family wher ...

Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff. Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching in ...

Konnie Huq Kanak Asha "Konnie" Huq (; born 17 July 1975) is a British television and radio presenter, screenwriter and children's author. She became the longest-serving female presenter of the British children's television programme ''Blue Peter'', prese ...

and

Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single " Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woma ...

among others. Other appearances include the CBBC talent show ''

The Slammer ''The Slammer'' (also known as ''The Slammer Returns'' for its final two series) is a children's talent show sitcom that was broadcast on BBC One and CBBC from 22 September 2006 until 26 July 2014. Set in a fictional prison called HM Slamme ...

'' as part of an impressions double act and as a special guest on ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Te ...

''. Robinson provided female impressions on ''

Headcases ''Headcases'' is a British satirical animation show based on current affairs. It employed the same satirical style as ''Spitting Image'', ''2DTV'' and ''Bo' Selecta!'', but using 3D animation created by UK Visual Effects and animation house Red ...

'', an animated satirical show similar to ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British satire, satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productio ...

'', which appeared on ITV from April to June 2008 on Sunday evenings. In 2009, she appeared as a number of characters in several

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

'' Doctor Who'' audio plays. Robinson's TV appearances include ''

Scoop Scoop, Scoops or The scoop may refer to: Objects * Scoop (tool), a shovel-like tool, particularly one deep and curved, used in digging * Scoop (machine part), a component of machinery to carry things * Scoop stretcher, a device used for casualty ...

'' and ''Comedy Cuts'' for

ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial station ...

and Gigglebiz. She appeared in various sketches in the first two series of '' The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson''. In 2010, director Angie De Chastelai Smith collaborated with producer Charlie Hanson at ITV to make '' It's Paul Burling!'' in which Robinson co-starred as the main female impressionist. Her impressions included

Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, she rose to fame in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's '' Popstars ...

, Stacey Solomon and

Kerry Katona Kerry Jayne Elizabeth Katona (born 6 September 1980) is a British media personality and singer. She was a member of girl group Atomic Kitten from 1998 until her first departure in 2001 and again from 2012 until her second departure in 2017. ...

. The show, which aired in December 2010 to a television audience of 3.7 million viewers, was a one-hour Christmas special on ITV following Burling's success on talent show BGT. On radio, Robinson was part of Newsjack for

BBC Radio 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the pr ...

, and has also recorded numerous episodes of ''15 Minute Musical'', ''The Castle'', ''The Secret World'', and radio sitcom, ''The Music Teacher''. In late 2012, she reprised the role of Little Voice in the UK touring production of ''

'', alongside a cast including

Beverley Callard Beverley Jane McEwan (''née'' Moxon; previously Atkinson, Sowden and Callard; born 28 March 1957) is an English actress, known for her role as Liz McDonald in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and Flo Henshaw in '' Two P ...

, Joe McGann and Ray Quinn. She participated in the

eleventh In music or music theory, an eleventh is the note eleven scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the eleventh. The interval can be also described as a compound fourth, spanning an octave plus a f ...

series of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

'' and made her way through to the live semi-finals, where she finished in fifth place. As a voice-over artist, Robinson is the lead voice on ''

Horrible Histories ''Horrible Histories'' is an educational entertainment franchise encompassing many media including books, magazines, audio books, stage shows, TV shows, and more. In 2013, Lisa Edwards, UK publishing and commercial director of Scholastic Corpor ...

'' along with

. She has completed 52 episodes of new animation

Bat Pat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bir ...

, playing one of the lead roles; Leo as well as many other characters. She has voiced many promotions on Disney Channel and

Disney Junior Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven ...

. Robinson has worked on many video games including ''

Anno 1404 ''Anno 1404'', known as ''Dawn of Discovery'' in North America, is a city-building and economic simulation game with real-time strategy elements, part of the ''Anno'' series. Released in 2009, it was developed by Related Designs, produced by ...

'', ''Venetica'', '' Risen 2: Dark Waters'' and '' Risen 3: Titan Lords'' in which she played the role of Pirate, Patty Steelbeard. Jess plays popular character of Ivo in '' Book of Unwritten Tales''. In 2016, Robinson appeared as a panellist on '' The Dog Ate My Homework''. In 2017, Robinson became a voice artist on the

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on ...

The Zoo ''The Zoo'' is a one-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson, writing under the pen name of Bolton Rowe. It premiered on 5 June 1875 at the St. James's Theatre in London (as an afterpiece to W. S. Gil ...

'' and on animated Noddy series '' Noddy, Toyland Detective''. In 2018, she made several higher profile television appearances on ''

The Imitation Game ''The Imitation Game'' is a 2014 American historical drama film directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Graham Moore, based on the 1983 biography '' Alan Turing: The Enigma'' by Andrew Hodges. The film's title quotes the name of the game ...

'', ''

Don't Hate The Playaz Don't, Dont, or DONT may refer to: Films * Don't (1925 film), ''Don't'' (1925 film), a 1925 silent comedy film * Don't (1974 film), ''Don't'' (1974 film), a 1974 film about the monarch butterfly * ''Don't'', a fake trailer from the film ''Grindho ...

'' for ITV, and '' The Last Leg''. In 2020, she became a voice artist on the new series of ''

'' for

BritBox BritBox is an online digital video subscription service, founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, operating in nine countries across North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

, voicing most of the female characters including:

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...

Melania Trump Melania Trump ( ; born Melanija Knavs , Germanized as Melania Knauss ; born April 26, 1970) is a Slovene-American former model and businesswoman who served as First Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of 45th president D ...

Ivanka Trump Ivana Marie "Ivanka" Trump (; born October 30, 1981) is an American businesswoman and the first daughter of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. She was a senior advisor in his administration, and also was the ...

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Op ...

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the s ...

Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the L ...

Greta Thunberg Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation. Thunberg's activism began when she persuaded ...

and

Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born ) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Paltrow gained notice for her early work in films ...

. In 2020 amid the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

crisis Robinson joined the supergroup known as

The Celebs The Celebs are a celebrity supergroup created by Grahame and Jack Corbyn with the intention of raising money for charity. The group was formed in 2018 and consists of a changing mix of TV presenters, musicians, radio DJs, actors and sports pers ...

which now included

Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno, (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He had a highly publicised and eventful career, both in and out of the ring. The pinnacle of Bruno's boxing career was winning ...

and X Factor winner

Sam Bailey Samantha Florence Bailey (born 29 June 1977) is an English pop singer who won the tenth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2013. Following her win, her debut single, a cover of Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper" was released on 15 December 2013, achievin ...

to raise money for both

Alzheimer's Society Alzheimer's Society is a United Kingdom care and research charity for people with dementia and their carers. It operates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while its sister charitieAlzheimer Scotlandand Alzheimer's Society of Ireland cover ...

and

Action for Children Action for Children (formerly National Children's Home) is a UK children's charity created to help vulnerable children & young people and their families in the UK. The charity has 7,000 staff and volunteers who operate over 475 services in the ...

. They recorded a new rendition of Merry Christmas Everyone by

Shakin' Stevens Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s. His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, althoug ...

and it was released digitally on 11 December 2020, on independent record label

Saga Entertainment Saga Entertainment is an independent record label, based in London, founded in 2017 by music producers Grahame and Jack Corbyn. Artists on the label include Sam Bailey, Bargain Hunt, Shona McGarty and the Celebs, a supergroup of celebritie ...

. The music video debuted exclusively on Good Morning Britain the day before release. The song peaked at number two on the iTunes pop chart. In 2021, Robinson's podcast 'Stars in Your Ears' won gold at The British Podcast Awards in The Best Entertainment category, with '

James Acaster James William Acaster (; born 9 January 1985) is an English comedian, writer, presenter and musician. As well as appearances on panel shows, he is known for the stand-up specials ''Repertoire'', co-hosting the food podcast ''Off Menu'' and co- ...

's Perfect Sounds' and 'A Gay and a Non Gay' placed in second and third place. Of Robinson's winning podcast, the said "in a very strange year and in a field that is brimming with a lot of entertaining podcasts, this one stood out as bold and totally unique. It’s clear that the host spends every second on this podcast having fun with a total commitment of creativity, energy and ambition to the podcast from all involved, that was topped off with outstanding production values. It kept a smile on the judges faces throughout." In each episode of the first two series, made during the

COVID-19 lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countri ...

, Jess and her band – Jessington World Of Adventures impersonate the styles of famous singers, interview a celebrity guest and teach them how to do an impression. Guests have included:

Stephen K Amos Stephen Kehinde Amos (born 3 December 1967) is a British stand-up comedian and television personality. A regular on the international comedy circuit, he is known for including his audience members during his shows. He began his career as a co ...

, Ellie Taylor, Rachel Parris, Deborah Frances White,

Romesh Ranganathan Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan (born 27 March 1978), is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and often self-deprecating comedy. Ranganathan has made numerous appearances on television comedy panel shows, and in 2016 he co-p ...

Gareth Malone Gareth Edmund Malone (born 9 November 1975) is an English choirmaster and broadcaster, self-described as an " animateur, presenter and populariser of choral singing". He is best known for his television appearances in programmes such as '' Th ...

Al Murray Alastair James Hay Murray (born 10 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor, musician and writer from Hammersmith. In 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, and in 2007 he was voted the 16th gre ...

Alex Horne Alexander James Jeffery Horne (born 10 September 1978) is a British comedian and musician. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series ''Taskmaster'', in which he also performs as the Taskmaster's assistant. He is the host and ban ...

and Rosie Jones. In November 2021, Robinson appeared on Channel 4's The Last Leg, ostensibly in character as Foreign Secretary

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down ...

, performing karaoke versions of famous songs with lyrics modified satirically.

Podcast

Robinson has a podcast called ''Stars in Your Ears'' (2020) In 2021 the podcast won gold for 'Best Entertainment Podcast' at the British Podcast Awards.

Live shows

*''Jess Robinson: Mighty Voice'' (2014) *''Jess Robinson: The Rise of Mighty Voice'' (2015) *''Jess Robinson: Impressive'' (2016) *''Jess Robinson: Unravelled'' (2017) *''Jess Robinson: No Filter'' (2018) *''Jess Robinson: The Jess Robinson Experience'' (2019) *''Jess Robinson: LEGACY'' (2022) All shows were part of the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Jess English television actresses English impressionists (entertainers) Actresses from London 1980s births Living people Britain's Got Talent contestants