Jayma Mays Wiki Bio
Jayma Suzette Mays was born in Bristol, Tennessee USA, on 16 July 1979 – her zodiac sign is Cancer, and she holds American nationality. She’s an actress, perhaps known best for playing the role of Emma in the popular musical TV series “Glee”, and for her starring roles in movies such as “The Smurfs”, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”, and “Red Eye”.
Early life and education
Jayma is the daughter of James Edwin Mays, a high school teacher who also worked in the coal mining industry, and Susan Paulette. When Jayma was only three years old, she moved to Grundy, Virginia with her family, where she spent most of her childhood, with two older siblings.
She started her career in an unusual way; at the age of 15, she landed her first job of reading obituaries for a local radio station.
https://www.instagram.com/p/9qXqavBkCA/
She then did an internship with the actor Timothy Busfield, known for his TV series “Thirtysomething”.
Jayma matriculated from Grundy High School in 1997, and then earned an Associate’s degree from Southwest Virginia Community College. Later, she enrolled at Virginia Tech, but transferred to Radford University after her freshman year, and in 2000 graduated university with a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts, then moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue an acting career. While there, she joined the Knightsbridge Theatre Company, with whom she worked for more than three years, performing in numerous stage plays.
Roles in TV series
Jayma made her TV series debut in 2004, when she appeared alongside Matt LeBlanc in an episode of the sitcom “Joey”, the spin-off of “Friends”. In the following years, she made brief appearances in several other popular series, including “Six Feet Under”, “How I Met Your Mother” and “Ghost Whisperer”.
In 2006, Jayma landed her first recurring role in the sci-fi drama “Heroes”, created by Tim Kring, and which starred Jack Coleman, Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettiere. In 2007 and 2008, she appeared in eight episodes of the romantic comedy drama “Ugly Betty”; the series was developed by Silvio Horta for ABC, and is one of several international adaptations of the Colombian hit telenovela “Yo Soy Betty, la Fea”, centered on a girl who lands a job at a trendy fashion magazine despite her lack of style, and soon falls in love with the rich publisher’s son.
From 2009 to 2015, Jayma played the role of Emma Pillsbury in the musical comedy drama “Glee”, which starred Lea Michele, Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison. Emma was one of the major characters in the first four seasons, but her screen time was somewhat reduced in the following two seasons, due to Jayma’s other obligations. “Glee” aired on Fox Network for six seasons, and centered on a group of high school students who joined a glee club led by a passionate Spanish teacher. It was one of the most popular TV series at the time, with each episode being watched by up to 36 million people. In 2012, it was one of the highest earning TV shows of the year, behind “Two and a Half Man”, “American Idol” and “The X Factor”.
For her performance in the series, Jayma won the 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, shared with the rest of the series’ cast.
Another notable role for Jayma was in the popular CBS sitcom “The Millers”, created by Greg Garcia, and which starred Will Arnett and Margo Martindale. It followed a journalist played by J. B. Smoover, who gets tangled into his parents’ martial issues, right after ending his own marriage. The series was unexpectedly cancelled by the network in 2015 for financial reasons, despite having very good ratings during its first two seasons.
From 2014 to 2019, Jayma has also appeared in four episodes of the Comedy Central series “Drunk History”, in which she portrayed several different historical figures, including Abigail Adams, Florence Schaffner and Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
Roles in movies
Jayma made her film debut in the 2005 thriller “Red Eye”, directed by Wes Craven, and which starred Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy and Brian Cox. In the following year, she appeared alongside Chris Pine and Anjali Jay in the romantic comedy “Blind Dating”, and in the same year Jayma played a supporting role in Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-nominated historical drama “Flags of Our Fathers”, following the lives of six men who raised the flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the turning points of World War II.
In 2007, she made an appearance in the comedy “Epic Movie”, written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, created as a spoof on some of the previous year’s most popular films, such as “The Da Vinci Code” and “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”.
Although the movie was commercially successful, grossing more than $86 million at the box-office, against the $30 million budget, it was infamously nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards, and is widely considered to be one of the worst movies ever made
Two years later, Jayma played the role of Amy in the hit crime action comedy “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”, directed by Steve Carr, and which starred Kevin James in the title role. In 2011, she starred alongside Katy Perry and Neil Patrick Harris in the live action/animated comedy “The Smurfs”, based on the characters from the popular comic book and cartoon series of the same name, reprising her role two years later, in its sequel “The Smurfs 2”.
https://www.facebook.com/Jayma-Mays-142896025739620/photos/394199463942607
In 2017, Jayma had a role in another blockbuster, the crime action comedy “American Made”, centered on a pilot, played by Tom Cruise, who became a drug-runner for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), in the later 1980s.
This year, she was cast in the upcoming Disney adventure comedy “Disenchanted”, the long-awaited sequel to the 2007 movie “Enchanted”. The project is currently in the post-production phase, and is expected to be released in early 2022.
Personal life, husband and family
Jayma is married to fellow actor Adam Campbell, known for his roles in TV series such as “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”, “Great News” and “Hello Ladies”. The two first met in 2006 on the set of “Epic Movie”, and started dating shortly thereafter.
Interestingly, unlike many other actors who started dating on set, Jayma and Adam didn’t play a couple in the movie – they were cast to play siblings.
They tied the knot on 28 October 2007, in a private ceremony. After almost nine years of marriage, they welcomed their son Jude, in August 2016. News of Jayma’s pregnancy was originally revealed by the magazine “Us Weekly”, but the couple didn’t share any further information until the boy was born. As of October 2021, the family resides in suburban Los Angeles.
Hobbies and interesting facts
When she was still a high school student, Jayma was a member of the Future Homemakers of America, the non-profit organization focused on addressing personal and societal issues through Family and Consumer Sciences education.
She has naturally red hair, which has made her stand out all through her life.
Her all-time favorite TV series is “The Golden Girls”; she has a DVD box-set of the full series at home, and has watched every episode at least five times.
Aside from acting, Jayma is also a talented singer, and can play the piano.
Age, height and net worth
Jayma is 42 years old. She has long ginger hair and hazel eyes, is 5ft 4ins tall, and weighs around 117lbs (53kgs).
As of October 2021, her net worth is estimated at more than $3 million.
