Jasmine Cephas Jones

Jasmine Cephas Jones (born July 21, 1989) is an American actress and singer, best known for originating the dual roles of Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds in the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton.[3] In 2020, Cephas Jones won a Primetime Emmy for portraying Tyisha in #freerayshawn.

Jasmine Cephas Jones
Jasmine Cephas Jones and Anthony Ramos in Hamilton costume, July 2015
Born	July 21, 1989[1][2] New York City, New York
Education	Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Berklee College of Music
Occupation	Actress singer
Years active	2013–present
Partner(s)	Anthony Ramos (actor)
Parent(s)	Ron Cephas Jones Kim Lesley

Early life

Jones is the daughter of actor Ron Cephas Jones[4] and British-born jazz singer Kim Lesley. She attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, and Berklee College of Music, and graduated from Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in 2011.[5] She grew up in Midwood, Brooklyn, where she still lived as of 2015.[1]

Career

Jones has made small appearances in multiple independent films, including Titus (2013) and Fairfield (2014). She has also appeared in episodes of Blue Bloods and Unforgettable.

In 2015, she originated the roles of Maria Reynolds and Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler Van Rensselaer in the original Off-Broadway production of Hamilton. When the show moved to Broadway, she continued in those roles, and remained with that production until December 8, 2016.[6] In 2016, she won a Grammy Award for her work as one of the principal soloists on the Hamilton cast album.[7]

In the 2017 Super Bowl, she, along with fellow Hamilton stars Renée Elise Goldsberry and Phillipa Soo, sang "America the Beautiful".[8]

Jones also appears in the 2015 film Mistress America,[9] and in the 2018 film Dog Days.

In 2020 she appeared as a secondary character in the short series #Freerayshawn, winning an Emmy for her performance.

Personal life

On December 24, 2018, Cephas Jones became engaged to fellow Hamilton original Broadway cast member Anthony Ramos, whom she met and began dating during rehearsals for the Off-Broadway production of Hamilton at The Public Theatre.[10]

Theatre

Year	Production	Role	Type
2014	The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner	Kenisha	Off-Broadway
2015	Hamilton	Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds
2015–2016			Broadway
2019	Cyrano	Roxanne	Off-Broadway

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2013	Titus	Jessica
2014	Fairfield	Lindsey
2015	Mistress America	Nicolette
2018	Blindspotting	Ashley
	Monsters and Men	Marisol Ortega
	Dog Days	Lola
2019	Marriage Story	Theater Actor
2020	The Photograph	Rachel Miller
	Hamilton	Peggy Schuyler / Maria Reynolds
	Honest Thief	Beth Hall

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Blue Bloods	Shania Costa	Season 4 Episode 8: "Justice Served"
2014	Unforgettable	Ellen	Season 2 Episode 11: "East of Islip"
2016	Odd Mom Out	TKTS Seller	Season 2 Episode 3: "Hamming It Up"
2017	Girls	Shopgirl	Season 6 Episodes 6 & 7: "Full Disclosure", "The Bounce"
2018	Midnight, Texas	Addie Wigget	Season 2 Episodes 8 & 9: “Patience is a Virtue”, “Yasss, Queen”
2019	Mrs. Fletcher	Chloe	5 episodes
2020	#FreeRayshawn	Tyisha	15 episodes

Discography

Extended plays

Title	Year
Blue Bird	2020

Singles

Title	Year	Album/EP
"Moonlight"	2019	Blue Bird
"Wild Thing"	2020
"Little Bird"

Guest appearances

Title	Year	Other artist(s)	Album
"Freedom"	2018	Anthony Ramos, Broken Luxury	The Freedom EP

Cast album appearances

Album	Year	Role
Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)	2015	Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds

Awards and nominations

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Work	Result	Ref(s)
Broadway.com Audience Awards	May 10, 2016	Favorite Featured Actress in a Musical	Hamilton	Nominated	[11]
		Favorite Female Breakthrough Performance		Nominated
Grammy Awards	February 15, 2016	Best Musical Theater Album		Won	[7]
Antonyo Awards	June 19, 2020	Best Featured Actor in a Musical Off-Broadway	Cyrano	Won	[12]
Primetime Emmy Awards	September 17, 2020	Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series	#FreeRayshawn	Won	[13]

References

1. Henderson, Kathy (September 3, 2015). "Jasmine Cephas Jones on Learning from Philip Seymour Hoffman & Strutting Her Stuff in Hamilton". Broadway Buzz. Broadway.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017.
2. Jasmine Cephas Jones [@JasCephasJones] (July 21, 2015). "Sang some Stevie wonder with my momma on my Birthday for the #ham4ham lotto! #bestbirthdayever @HamiltonMusical" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
3. Mistress America: Jasmine Cephas-Jones on Her Character. The New York Times (video). August 18, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
4. Morales, Wilson (August 11, 2015). "Jasmine Cephas Jones Talks Noah Baumbach's Mistress America & Broadway's Hamilton". Black Film. Archived from the original on January 15, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
5. "Bravo to Mackenzie Davis and Jasmine Cephas Jones, NP Class of 2011!". Retrieved January 4, 2019.
6. Schulman, Michael (August 6, 2015). "The Women of Hamilton". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018.
7. "58th Annual GRAMMY Awards". The Recording Academy. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
8. Lee, Ashley (January 27, 2017). "Super Bowl: Hamilton Stars to Perform". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 21, 2018.
9. Brody, Richard (August 24, 2015). "Mistress America and the Art of Making a Living as an Artist". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018.
10. Lefkowitz, Andy. "A Hamilton Love Story: Anthony Ramos & Jasmine Cephas Jones Are Engaged". Retrieved January 4, 2019.
11. "Vote Now! Hamilton Breaks Record for Most Broadway.com Audience Choice Award Nominations". Broadway.com. April 26, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
12. Appler, Michael. "Audra McDonald, LaChanze & Celia Rose Gooding Win at Broadway Black's Inaugural Antonyo Awards". Variety. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
13. "Outstanding Actress In A Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series Nominees / Winners 2020". Television Academy. Retrieved July 29, 2020.

External links

• Jasmine Cephas Jones at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jasmine Cephas Jones at IMDb