Winter Jones, previously Tony Yalda, sometimes credited as Anthony Yalda (born March 25, 1981) is a non-binary Assyrian actor.

Biography

Jones was born to Assyrian parents in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. Their family fled Lebanon after facing persecution during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

. Like most Assyrian refugees, their family arrived in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, seeking asylum. Four years later, the family finally arrived in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Jones studied theatre at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

and

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university enrolls arou ...

's Theatre Conservatory. In 2004, they dropped out of school and arrived in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to pursue a career in acting. Pretending to be a messenger service, dropping off pictures and resumes, they made the rounds of casting offices until in 2005 they landed a role in '' The Comeback'' starring

Lisa Kudrow Lisa Valerie Kudrow ( ; born July 30, 1963) is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the American television sitcom ''Friends'', which aired from 1994 to 2004. The series earned her Primetime Emmy A ...

. They booked their next role in ''

American Dreamz ''American Dreamz'' is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Paul Weitz. Described as a "cultural satire" by Weitz, the film satirizes both popular entertainment and American politics during the second George W. Bush administration. Plot O ...

'' a month later, which landed them with former talent agency, GVA Talent. Their former band The Hollabacks won a national competition for

7 Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc. is an American convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan, which in turn is owned by the retail holdings company Seven & I Holdings. The chain was founded in ...

in 2010, making the band the face of

Slurpee Slurpee is the brand name for carbonated slushies sold by 7-Eleven and its subsidiaries A-Plus, Speedway, & Stripes Convenience Stores. The brand originated in 1966 when 7-Eleven made a licensing deal with The Icee Company to sell slushi ...

for a 6-month campaign. The Hollabacks music was featured in ''

Cyrus Cyrus () is a Persian-language masculine given name. It is historically best known as the name of several List of monarchs of Iran, Persian kings, most notably including Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Empire in 550 BC. It remains wid ...

''. The band was also archived in Wolfgang’s Vault. Jones moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

in 2011 to pursue their solo career with producer/songwriter

Michael Bland Michael Bland (born March 14, 1969) is an American musician best known as a drummer for Prince starting in 1989. He was with Prince during The New Power Generation era and played with him live and on albums for seven years. From 1995 to 1997, B ...

who is the former drummer for the late

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

. Jones wrote two albums with Bland, '' O My God'' and ''

Sex Appeal Sexual attraction is attraction on the basis of sexual desire or the quality of arousing such interest. Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal is an individual's ability to attract other people sexually, and is a factor in sexual selection or m ...

'' under the alias Ladyboi. The two albums are now featured as Winter Jones, Volume I on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

. Jones dropped the name Ladyboi in 2014 adopting the name Winter Jones, and legally changing their name in 2015. Jones currently resides in Chicago, IL and is writing/recording and performing in the Windy City.

Career

Film

*''

Fairies A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

'' (2003) as MAX *''My Porn Star'' (2004) as Anthony *''A Moment of Grace'' (2004) as Nidhal *''Mush'' (2005) as Mush *''

'' (2006) as Iqbal Riza *''

Americanizing Shelley ''Americanizing Shelley'' is a 2007 Hollywood romantic comedy film directed by Lorraine Senna and starring Beau Bridges, Namrata Singh Gujral, Shaheen Khan, Wil Wheaton, Noureen DeWulf, Tony Yalda, and Ajay Mehta. The film was the closing film ...

'' (2007) as Happy Singh *''

Meet the Spartans ''Meet the Spartans'' is a 2008 American parody film written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. The film is mainly a parody of the 2006 film ''300'', although it also references many other films, TV shows, people and pop cultural ...

'' (2008) as

Sanjaya Malakar Sanjaya Joseph Malakar (born September 10, 1989) is an American singer who was a finalist on the sixth season of ''American Idol''. He gained national attention on the series, controversially advancing to 7th place with public votes despite being ...

*'' House Broken'' (2009) as Gilroy *''The Last Stop'' (2009) as

Wedding Planner A wedding planner is a event planner who assists with the design, planning, and management of a client's wedding. Other names include ''wedding consultant'', ''wedding designer'', ''wedding coordinator'', and ''wedding director''. Professiona ...

*''

The Taqwacores ''The Taqwacores'' is the debut novel by Michael Muhammad Knight, depicting a fictitious Islamic punk rock scene. The title is a portmanteau of taqwa, an Islamic concept of love and fear for God, and Hardcore, the punk rock subgenre. Some o ...

'' (2010) as Muzzamil *''

'' (2010/11) as Tom

TV

*'' The Comeback'' as Raoul (2005) in the episode "Valerie Relaxes in Palm Springs" *'' Girlfriends'' (2006) as Lem in two episodes: "Party Over Here" and "The It Girl" *'' Help Me Help You'' (2006) as Nadeem in the episode "The Sheriff" *''

The Middleman ''The Middleman'' is a comic book series written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach with art by Les McClaine and published by Viper Comics. The series was initially intended to be a television pilot that went on to be published as a comic, before being ...

'' (2008) as Underworld Desk Clerk in the episode "The Accidental Occidental Conception" *'' Roommates'' (2009) as Winston in the episode "The Uninvited Thorn", "The Break-In", "The Lie" and "The Roommate"

Video

* ''Para matar a un asesino'' aka ''To Kill a Killer'' (2004) as Security Guard

Soundtracks

* ''

'' (2006) - performer: "

Super Freak "Super Freak" is a 1981 single produced and performed by American singer Rick James. The song, co-written by James and Alonzo Miller, was first released on James' fifth album, '' Street Songs'' (1981) and became one of James' signature songs. "F ...

" *''

'' (2008) - performer: "

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song recorded by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 by Polydor Records as the second single from her sixth album, ''Love Tracks (Gloria Gaynor album), Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Pe ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Winter 1981 births Assyrian actors Lebanese emigrants to the United States Living people DePaul University alumni Roosevelt University alumni American non-binary actors American non-binary musicians