Jemima Jo Kirke is an English-American artist and actress. She played Jessa Johansson on the television series Girls. She made her feature-length debut in the independent filmTiny Furniture, as a favour for her childhood friend Lena Dunham, although her actual film debut was in the indie short film Smile for the Camera. In 2017, she starred in Zayn's music video for the single "Dusk Till Dawn" featuring Sia.
Early life
Born in London to English parents, Kirke was raised in New York City. She is the daughter of Simon Kirke, the former drummer of the rock bandsBad Company and Free. Her mother is Lorraine Kirke, the owner of Geminola, a vintage boutique in New York City that supplied a number of outfits for the television series Sex and the City. Her character Jessa wore a wedding dress from Geminola in the season finale of the first season of Girls; also, earlier in her career, she was featured along with her sisters in a fashion piece in Teen Vogue in which they wore clothing from the store. Her father is of English and Scottish descent and her mother is Jewish. Her maternal grandfather, Jack Dellal, was a British businessman of Iraqi Jewish descent, and Kirke's maternal grandmother was Israeli. Kirke has two sisters, Lola Kirke and Domino Kirke, the first of whom is also an actress. She is a cousin of curator Alexander Dellal, shoe designer Charlotte Olympia Dellal and model Alice Dellal.
Career
Artist
Kirke majored in art as a student and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2008. In late 2011, she held an exhibition titled "A Brief History" through Skylight Projects.. In late 2017 to early 2018 she had a show at , a Lower East Side Gallery, where she exhibited portrait-style paintings, some of them neck-up, others full-figure, of women in their wedding dresses. Kirke was inspired by her own divorce, and the exhibition also contained a self-portrait of Kirke in her wedding dress and veil. She has been an inspiration to many including actor Emet Mihajlo who claims Kirke's painting style as his "greatest inspiration in the fine art world".
Acting
Kirke considers herself first and foremost an artist. She began acting through roles she accepted for a number of her friends. Dunham asked Kirke to take on a supporting role in her debut film Tiny Furniture. Kirke and a number of other friends were called upon as a favour to Dunham since there was not enough money to pay professional actors. Although the film turned out to be profitable, Kirke received no payment. Kirke reunited with Dunham in the HBO seriesGirls, appearing in all six seasons from 2011 to 2017 as the character Jessa Johansson. Kirke next had supporting roles in the dark comedy films Ava's Possessions and The Little Hours. In 2018, Kirke starred alongside her real-life sister Lola Kirke in Emma Forrest's film Untogether. The film premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. In 2011, Kirke appeared in the music video "Wring It Out" for the group Rival Schools. Both this music video and Smile for the Camera were directed by her friend Jordan Galland. In 2017, she appeared in the music video for "Gotta Get a Grip" by Mick Jagger, directed by Saam Farahmand, and appeared opposite Alex Cameron in his music video for the song "Stranger's Kiss". In September 2017, Kirke appeared opposite Zayn Malik in his music video for the song "Dusk Till Dawn".
Activism
In 2015, Kirke partnered with the Center for Reproductive Rights to create a public service announcement to advance the future of reproductive healthcare. In the PSA, Kirke discusses the abortion she received in college where she could not afford the anesthesia in addition to the procedure, and went without.
Personal life
Kirke resides in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn and East Hampton. She married lawyer Michael Mosberg in 2009, and they have two children: daughter Rafaella Israel, and son Memphis Kirke. In January 2017, it was announced Kirke and Mosberg had separated. Kirke is close friends with Lena Dunham, the creator of Tiny Furniture and Girls. They became friends while attending Saint Ann's School in New York City. Since July 2017, Kirke has dated Australian musician and singer songwriter Alex Cameron. Cameron has said that his 2019 album Miami Memory is primarily influenced by his relationship with Kirke.
