Jess Smith

“Ms. Smith is a star.” - BroadwayWorld

J.G. SMITH!
she/her/hers. Actor and performance artist. AEA, SAG-AFTRA-eligible.
PaonessaTalent.com / JGSmithActor.com

ON SCREEN!
Richard Roeper named J.G. a "standout" for her performance as jaded teen Joanna in Jennifer Reeder's acclaimed thriller Knives and Skin (2019).
Other film/TV credits include Short Comings (MTV); Dreaming Grand Avenue (Newcity); The World’s Astonishing News! (NTV); Pry Me Open (dir. Stephen Cone); Dorm Therapy (dir. Jo-Dean Roark); and commercials for Andre Champagnes and Cannabist.
Coming up next: THE DANCING MONKEY (dir. Chandler Wild, hitting the festival circuit in 2023).

ON STAGE!
She is a proud Ensemble Member with American Blues Theater, and is the resident Foley artist for Blues' annual holiday show It's A Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!
Other stage credits include work with Goodman, Lookingglass, Northlight, Peninsula Players, Alabama Shakespeare, Prop Thtr, Vision Productions, and the Shakespeare Project of Chicago.

THE ARTIST IS PRESENT!
Her performance art has debuted at NYC's Williamsburg Circus, Chicago's Salonathon!, TransVisions' SOFT PALETTE virtual festival, and the Brooklyn-based art incubator Undiscovered Countries.
She co-created and starred as Mary Shelley in the dark comedy variety hour MARYSHELLEYSHOW, which toured nationally, won an Audience Award at Chicago Fringe, and had an acclaimed run at The Tank Theatre in NYC.
Her original short film HIRE ME SPIELBERG was an Official Selection at New Orleans' Hell Yes Film Festival.

MORE INFO!
J.G. holds a BFA with Honors from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and a certificate in Performing Shakespeare from London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She is based in Chicago and travels frequently for gigs. In her downtime she takes long walks by the lake, tours museums, bingewatches British mysteries, and studies Irish Gaelic (800 days on Duolingo).