Story by Todd Williams
Images by Hiltron Bailey for Steed Media Service
Blü Beverly Hills on Wilshire Boulevard is a lovely backdrop for any event.
The sun-soaked streets of L.A.’s most glamorous district buzz as the hills stand
sentry in the distance. The only sight more beautiful than the picturesque
geography on this bright summer day, is the charming beauty having her picture
taken at the top of the building. Television and film star Jill Marie Jones radiates
confidence and beauty, so much so that it’s unclear if her bright smile and
caramel skin complement the gorgeous day or it’s the other way around. Soaking
in the ambience of the day, Jones is both engaging and playful, laughing with the
cameraman and chatting up the crew.
While some of the more cynical members of the screen starlet sorority
may
complain about the constant fawning that goes along with a major photo
shoot,
Jones is happily absorbing the attention. She can’t think of why anyone
would
complain. “You get to wear pretty dresses, [you] get your hair and
makeup done— it’s fabulous!” she says with a laugh. Watching Jones in
what for many would
be an opportune time to switch into full-on diva mode, it’s easy to
forget that she
first came to prominence as the tart, opinionated Toni Childs. As Childs on the
UPN/CW hit “Girlfriends,” Jill Marie Jones continued in the tradition of sassy,
smart sirens of the small screen. On a weekly basis, the exploits of Childs and her
three sisters-in-arms were fodder for chat rooms and watercooler conversations.
But Jones’ departure from the show in 2006 was controversial for fans, and the
show appeared to lose a bit of its following after she left.
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Every move she’s made since then has been about moving forward, not
rehashing the past. While many thespians in Hollywood are content to ‘play-totype,’
Jones is driven by a desire to continue to challenge herself and grow in her
craft. “I’m an actor, first and foremost, I like to challenge myself and I like to play
characters that I’ve never played before,” she notes. She acknowledges that Jill
does tend to surface in whomever she may be playing in a particular project, but
what gets her attention is the vitality of the character. “Every single character that
I’ve played [contains] a little bit of me, but they’re all so
different,” says Jones.“If it turns me on, that’s what I want to do.”
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Growing up in Dallas, the future starlet took the long way to Hollywood.
No stranger to hard work and unafraid of risk-taking, Jones started modeling
shortly after studying at Texas Women’s University, and her striking features
and charming personality soon caught the attention of the Dallas Cowboys
cheerleaders, Dallas Mavericks dancers, and the USO. It was with the USO that
Jones got her first taste of international travel, which would ultimately pique her
interest in following her dreams outside of the Lone Star State. “Travel is very
important to me,” she says. “The first place I traveled outside of the country was
Korea.” Exposing herself to various cultures
prepped her for making the transition from
Texas to the glitz and glam of Hollywood. “It
wasn’t a huge change going from Dallas to Los
Angeles, it wasn’t like a culture shock for me,”
Jones shares. “It’s coming up on 10 years for me
[here]. L.A. is beautiful — [although] I miss home,
you know, I love everything that California has to
offer aesthetically and I’m just really happy to be
here.”
“I never made a decision based on money in my
life …”
There are countless stories of burgeoning stars coming
to Los Angeles to pursue their dreams only to end up
distraught, devastated and destitute. Jones’ determination
and faith kept her from becoming a casualty or a cliché.
She adapted to the city quickly, developed her own
rituals for maintaining sanity in what can be an
infamously uncharitable town, and surrounded
herself with people that she could count on
to be her support system. “I definitely read
and I meditate, but [I love] just having my
good friends around,” she says. “[Living]
in Los Angeles, I have no family here, [so]
my friends are like my surrogate family.” She
adds with a laugh, “Getting together with my
girls and having drunken lunches — that’s
how I do it.”
“Girlfriends” was a phenomenon and
continued a new tradition of television
shows featuring young, professional
women learning about life and love
while balancing the private with the
professional. Like its predecessors“Living Single” and “Sex In the City,”
the show touched a nerve with young
women of all backgrounds, and Jones and her co-stars (Tracee Ellis Ross,
Golden Brooks and Persia White) became female icons for a new generation.
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The experience on the show was truly a blessing for Jones. She told BlackFilm.
com in 2007, “ ‘Girlfriends’ was my third audition. I booked my first. I booked my
second. I booked my third. ‘Girlfriends’ was my third. I was learning throughout
the whole process. If you look at seasons 1–6 when I was on, you can see the
growth.”
Being open to growth is essential to who Jill Marie Jones is, and it remains a
big factor in how the little girl from Big D made it all the way to the beaches of
St. Tropez and the waters of the Far East. Being open to change is what pushed
Jones to make the leap from the small screen to the silver screen. “The cool
thing to me about movies is … the research, breaking down the character,” Jones
shared with BlackFilm.com. “But after two months, I get to do a new character,
and that’s cool. Sometimes when you are on a TV show — and if you are blessed
to go for six years like I was — it’s the same character. The difference … is that
my character — from [when] you met her [to] where she ended on the show —
they [the writers] challenged me all the time. I felt as if I was able to play different
characters.”
Being able to play different characters and work on films that you’re passionate
about are certainly pluses for any actress, and Jones latest project, a film calledLong Shots with Ice Cube and Keke Palmer, is a movie that the actress
poured her heart and soul into. “It’s actually a true story
about a 12-year-old girl who was the first girl to play in
Pop Warner football [and] to take her team to the
Super Bowl,” Jones explains. “It’s such a great
movie — very heartfelt. It’s a lighthearted drama,
it kind of reminds me of a modern Rudy.” “Ice
Cube is the best, he’s very professional, but
he’s so fun,” she says. “He was very emotionally
giving. Cube is very vulnerable in the film. It’s
a very sweet, sweet movie.”
Jones doesn’t randomly chase
projects in search of the next
blockbuster, she decides on roles
based on her instincts and that
has been her approach from
the beginning. Fans, critics, and
the blogosphere ran rampant with
speculation as to why Jones left“Girlfriends” when her contract ended
in 2006, but Jones is adamant in keeping
money last on her priority list when it comes
to her career. “[Don’t] let your life be driven
by financial gain, I never made a decision
based on money in my life,” assures Jones. Ever
the polite Southern girl, she pauses mid-sentence
to say ‘bless you’ to a bystander after a sneeze.
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“Success has nothing to do with financial gain, to
me, [leaving] the world a better place than when
you got here is success.” She continues, “My
mother is the most amazing woman I know
and for me to be able to walk through the
world and be a great representation of
her, that’s successful for me.”
As the sun begins to lower over the
Hollywood Hills, Jones readies herself
for her next triumph. She smiles as she
prepares to leave, and she has the look
of a woman fulfilled by a hard
day’s work, a woman unafraid
of the challenges tomorrow
may bring. Jones welcomes
that new day, and for her
the greatest fear lies in not
trying. We should all be so
fearless.
