Jessica Hobbs

Jessica Hobbs began directing short films in her 20s, during an eight-year stint as an assistant director. After helming award-winning Cliff Curtis teleplay Overnight in 1995, she graduated to series City Life and Australia's Heartbreak High. Her award-winning Aussie resume includes hit show Love My Way, East Timor miniseries Answered by Fire, and the opening episodes of BAFTA nominee The Slap. Relocating to England, she directed miniseries Apple Tree Yard, based on a bestseller about an affair. After being nominated in 2020, Hobbs won her first Emmy Award in 2021 for her directing work on royalty drama The Crown. 

Not a lot of women have won this award, so I feel like I'm standing on the shoulders of some really extraordinary people. I'm very grateful for the path that they led, and I'd particularly like to pay tribute to my mum, who at 77 is still directing. Jessica Hobbs pays tribute to her mother Aileen O'Sullivan, after accepting the Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing, on Netflix series The Crown, 20 September 2021