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Actor, Cameo & Crew Profiles > Actor Profiles > Annie Jones

Annie Jones was born Annika Jansco on 13th January 1967 in Adelaide to Hungarian Immigrant parents. Her father was an Opal Miner and she has three older sisters. She began her career by modelling before winning a starring role in the film drama, Run Chrissie Run in 1984, at the age of seventeen. From there, she starred in The Henderson Kids, where she met her husband, director Paul Moloney. They married in 1989.

Annie went on to appear in Sons and Daughters before auditioning for the role of Charlene Mitchell in Neighbours. The role ultimately went to Kylie Minogue, but Annie was offered the part of Charlene’s best friend, Jane Harris. Annie stayed on Ramsay Street from 1986 to 1989 and during that time, she won a Logie for Most Popular Actress. During Jane’s first stint in Erinsborough, she acquired one of the most famous nicknames in the show’s history – Plain Jane Superbrain. She had relationships with Mike Young and Des Clarke and was devoted to her Nan, Mrs Mangel.

While still working on Neighbours, Annie had the opportunity to report on the opening day of the World Expo 88 for Network Ten. Then, after departing the show, for the rest of the nineties, Annie worked on various films and TV shows, including The Flying Doctors, Chances, Snowy and Pig’s Breakfast. She also starred in Jackaroo for which she earned another Logie for Most Popular Actress in 1991.

From 2001 onwards, Annie worked on shows and films such as The Secret Life of Us, Blue Heelers, Five Moments of Infidelity, The Condemned, Underbelly Files: Tell Them Lucifer Was Here, Sneezing Baby Panda: The Movie, Winners & Losers and The Doctor Blake Mysteries. A lot of Annie’s work, although consistent, involved guest appearances for a few episodes rather than long stints, as she spent fifteen years devoted to caring for her mother who had Alzheimer’s.

In 2005, Annie made a cameo appearance as Jane as part of Neighbours’ 20th anniversary, then, in March 2015, Annie and the cast of Neighbours, old and new, reunited to celebrate in Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite. The following year, Annie and Guy Pearce, who played Neighbours' Mike Young, reunited on drama, Jack Irish. She also filmed Secret Bridesmaids’ Business, based on the stage play by Elizabeth Coleman in 2019.

In 2018, Annie stepped back onto Ramsay Street as Jane Harris for a guest stint. Jane resumed her friendship with Paul Robinson and, following further guest stints, Annie was confirmed to be a permanent cast member again in 2020, when she was joined by her daughter, Nicolette and later, her son Byron. Annie remained with the show until what was believed to be the final episode in the summer of 2022. Annie, and Jane, took centre stage in the final episodes with Guy Pearce as Mike returning to Erinsborough to reunite with the love of his life, after more than thirty years apart.

Annie participated in the UK and Australian Neighbours Celebration Tour in March and April 2023. The tour had initially been to celebrate the show turning thirty five years old but had been postponed due to Covid. It then became a farewell tour but the determination and outcry from fans around the world prompted Amazon to pick the show up less than a year after it had been cancelled, turning the tour into a Celebration Tour instead. Neighbours resumed filming in April 2023, soon after the tour finished, with Annie returning as Jane, now the principal of Erinsborough High, with Guy Pearce also filming some scenes as Mike, allowing the love story to continue.