Jemima Kirke was born on April 26, 1985 (Jemima Kirke age: 36) in London to parents Simon and Lorraine Kirke. Her father is a former rock musician and her mother is a vintage boutique owner in New York City. Kirke is the middle of three siblings; her older sister Domino Kirke is a singer and her younger sister Lola Kirke is an actress. Kirke was raised in New York City and attended Saint Ann’s School in New York, where she became friends with Lena Dunham. Kirke graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 2008 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and has held various exhibitions for her art.

JEMIMA KIRKE BIOGRAPHY: EARLY LIFE, FAMILY, EDUCATION

Kirke identifies as an artist and painter more than she does an actress. When asked if she had always wanted to be an actress, Kirke told Vanity Fair in 2012, “No, not per se. It was never a goal of mine. It still really isn’t.”

JEMIMA KIRKE BIOGRAPHY: ACTING BEGINNINGS, MOVIES, TV ROLES

Kirke’s made her film debut in the independent short film Smile for the Camera in 2005 in which she played a singer alongside her sister Domino. The film’s cast was primarily made up of people with no previous acting experience, including Kirke. Kirke’s feature-length debut came in the form of childhood friend Dunham’s independent film Tiny Furniture. Dunham asked Kirke to be a part of her film; Kirke played Charlotte opposite Dunham, who wrote, directed, and played the protagonist, Aura, in the film.

Dunham asked Kirke to portray Jessa Johansson in the pilot for HBO series Girls. Girls went on to run for six seasons from 2012 to 2017. In 2015, Kirke played voice roles in TV shows The Simpsons and Axe Cop.

She played her first role in a film since Tiny Furniture as Ivy in Ava’s Possessions (2015). She then went on to play the role of Marta in The Little Hours in 2017. Kirke starred in ZAYN‘s music video for “Dusk Till Dawn” featuring Sia in the same year. She followed up these roles with Gillian in Wild Honey Pie, Andrea Moore in Untogether All These Small Moments and Adelaide in the miniseries Maniac in 2018. In 2019, she appeared in the TV show High Maintenance as herself. Kirke played Countess in Sylvie’s Love 

JEMIMA KIRKE BIOGRAPHY: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ON ‘GIRLS’

Kirke is best known for her portrayal of Jessa Johanson on Dunham’s HBO series Girls. Girls follows the life of Hannah, a young aspiring writer in New York City, and her close friends. Many features of the main protagonist are based on Dunham’s real life.

Dunham approved Kirke to work on the show’s pilot. Although Kirke stated that acting was “never a goal of [hers],” Kirke agreed to the project. Kirke told Vanity Fair in 2012, “I think she convinced me because it was a pilot and I was really proud of her to get the offer to make a pilot. I didn’t think ahead. I’m not the star of it, so it’s kind of fine. ‘I’d love to appear in your pilot.’ Then it became this huge thing. In my mind, I didn’t really sign up for this. I signed up for the pilot, but this is where it took me. It’s great.”

When asked about her favorite Girls scene, Kirke told uInterview, “I loved the one where [Marnie] and Evan [Moss] … try and like sort out their marital problems, that scene where they’re doing therapy. I think Evan Moss is just a really underrated comedian and he killed it in that show and in that scene in particular. What he does is so subtle, he’s such a good actor, people don’t necessarily read it as a comedy but he knows how ridiculous he’s being and how ridiculous the person is that he’s playing.”

Kirke revealed that her favorite moments on set were the moments in between shooting. “My favorite moments on that were when, you know, Lena or Allison [Williams] or Zosia [Mamet] would just come into my room or I go into their trailer or whatever and we just talk about the scene or the writing or personal gossip on set. I miss those moments of finding like a little oasis of quiet with your friend and sort of maybe commiserating and sometimes with Lena it might be rewriting something. She would come in and say, ‘Okay, what is not working for you?’ if I was struggling with a scene and I’d tell her, and we’ll rework it.”

JEMIMA KIRKE BIOGRAPHY: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ON ‘WILD HONEY PIE!’

Kirke played Gillian in 2018 comedy-drama Wild Honey Pie. The movie tells the story of Gillian and Oliver, a married couple whose relationship is tested when they decide to produce a “Shakespeare by the Sea” festival together.

Kirke described her character in a chat with uInterview. “She is someone who struggles very loudly and is sort of living her life in a very non-private way. She’s someone who makes mistakes and figures things out right in the moment. Therein lies her strength and vulnerability.”

Kirke described Gillian’s struggle in the film as one involving the difficulty of marriage and tradition. “I think if you’re someone who looks at things from all angles, then traditions like marriage are going to be difficult because there’s so much about marriage that is antiquated and sort of man-made and not human. We find her at a point in her life that is very normal where her marriage isn’t working. She chooses to stay in the end despite the fact that it makes absolutely no sense.”

Kirke mused, “It is quite crazy that we stay married when we’re miserable and then you just have to sort of weigh out ‘Is this worth it?’ and sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. I think it’s important to remember if you’re married and you love the person you’re with, you can come back from these mistakes there’s room to screw up and if there isn’t then it’s just not gonna work.”

Kirke’s most memorable moment while filming? “The last scene where Gillian is watching her play,” Kirke told uInterview. “I didn’t expect that to move me so much. Someone who’s so used to things being negative about them, that kind of stress and that sort of self-loathing is never going to move them as much as them achieving something. That revealed to me something about her, which is that she probably doesn’t realize how capable she is and how professional she is. I don’t know why but that moved me watching it.”

JEMIMA KIRKE BIOGRAPHY: PERSONAL LIFE, CHILDREN, DATING, ACTIVISM

Kirke has a daughter, Rafaella Israel, and a son, Memphis Kirke, with lawyer Michael Mosberg. Mosberg and Kirke married in 2009 but announced their split in January 2017. Kirke has been in a relationship with musician Alex Cameron since 2017.

In 2015, Kirke shared that she had an abortion in college in a public service announcement with the Center for Reproductive Rights. Kirke shared that she faced the challenge of affording the abortion and ultimately went under the procedure with no anesthesia. The project was aimed towards reducing the stigma surrounding abortion and advocating for reproductive healthcare.

JEMIMA KIRKE BIOGRAPHY: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is Jemima Kirke married? Jemima Kirke was formerly married to lawyer Michael Mosberg. They announced their split in January 2017.

Does Jemima Kirke have kids? Jemima Kirke has two children, daughter Rafaella Israel and son Memphis Kirke.

Does Jemima Kirke have tattoos? Kirke has at least 26 tattoos and has done some of them by herself. Kirke has also done tattoos on her friends such as Lena Dunham.

Who is Jemima Kirke’s boyfriend? Jemima Kirke has been in a relationship with musician Alex Cameron since 2017.

JEMIMA KIRKE FILMOGRAPHY

Year Title Role
2005 Smile for the Camera (Short) Twin Singer (voice)
2010 Tiny Furniture Charlotte
2011 Wring It Out (Video Short)
2015 Inside Amy Schumer (TV Series)

–       Last F… Able Day

 Jemima Kirke
2015 Axe Cop (TV Series)

–       The Center of the Ocean

 Water Queen (voice)
2015 The Simpsons (TV Series)

–       Every Man’s Dream

 Candace’s Friend (voice)
2017 The Little Hours Marta
2017 Strangers (TV Series) Emmy
2012-2017 Girls (TV Series) (53 episodes) Jessa Johansson
2017 Zayn feat. Sia: Dusk Till Dawn (Video Short) Zayn’s Conspirator
2017 New York Is Dead (TV Series)

–       Episode #1.6

 K.K.
2018 Wild Honey Pie! Gillian
2018 Untogether Andrea
2018 All These Small Moments Odessa
2018 Maniac (TV Mini-Series)

–       The Lake of the Clouds

–       Ceci N’est Pas Une Drill

–       Having a Day

–       Option C

–       The Chosen One!

 Adelaide
2020 Sylvie’s Love Countess

 

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