Breast Cancer Awareness Month and here I am in the midst of fighting my own battle with breast cancer. This past May, I had a normal breast exam during my annual checkup. By early June, after a family vacation and a lingering upper respiratory infection, out of nowhere I developed a painful lump in my breast that I mistakenly assumed must have been a cyst or an abscess because somebody once long ago told me that, “breast cancer doesn’t hurt.” and, “breast cancer doesn’t grow fast.” Having tested negative for the BRACA gene after my sister’s ovarian cancer diagnosis in 2019, I was under the very false impression that I somehow dodged a bullet and received a “get out of cancer free card” so the idea that this painful lump in my breast might be cancer quite frankly didn’t even cross my mind. So, I postponed my annual mammogram appointment for several weeks with hopes that this inflamed little almond-sized lump in my breast would be gone for fear that the crushing clamp of the mammogram might somehow burst the little bugger and cause an even greater problem, perhaps spreading this “infection”. Well, I was wrong in so many ways. Both the lump and the pain did not subside, but in fact they worsened to a point that I began developing a low-grade fever and wound up in the emergency room. Long story short, I find myself now in the midst of treatment and I am not alone. Did you know that every two minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States? Check out the link to the National Breast Cancer Foundation for facts and statistics on breast cancer. And for my part, if I can share one important thing with you it would be, it is not always true that breast cancer doesn’t hurt. It can.
Black and white "lost" photos
Between the years 1989 and up to sometime in 1993 I was seeing a film student/photographer/doctor (everyone in LA is a “slash slash slash”) I have a box of negatives from film shoots that we did over that time period, many of which I have never seen printed images of. I have been revisiting the box after getting my hands on a digital film scanner and having fun with memories of the time. This was during the very beginning of my life as a professional actor in Hollywood. In 1993 I left Los Angeles for New York City to work on a new television series on FOX produced by Robert De Niro. I lived in New York for four months while we shot seven episodes of the anthology series. I played “Sarah” a waitress in the coffee shop run by Harry Arsharsky (the kind and talented late Philip Bosco). It was a series full of stars and an experience of a lifetime. When I returned to Los Angeles with a career start “high”, my relationship with the “slash” guy ended quite abruptly. Seems as if absence doesn’t really make the heart grow fonder when you are dealing with a man who professes that “men just are not meant to be monogamous”. That time was a challenge for me but I was resilient and too young to be anything less than optimistic about my future. Enjoy these photos and more on my instagram and if you have a second, pop on over to my IMDB, every hit counts!
Father By Law now online for your viewing pleasure!
I am so excited to share this short film Father By Law with you!
Last year I had the pleasure of working with an incredible group of filmmakers from USC film school on this fantastic eighteen minute MFA thesis film Directed by Maria De Sanctis!
My experience with this team was the utmost in professionalism on a student film that I could have imagined! Cast by top casting directors Becky Silverman and Lisa Zambetti and led by the unflappable Maria De Sanctis and her producing partners Geoff McFarlane, Lauren Quirarte, and Jack Walterman, Father By Law is a thoughtful and touching short film starring Annie Clark, William Russ, Mike Bash, Andrew Hamrick, and yours truly!
I am so proud to have been a part of this film and I look forward to future opportunities to see and work with these friends again in the future!
Please enjoy! (…and keep your eye out for my real life hubby’s cameo in this film!)
My Grandma Rúža's Suit
My Grandma’s Suit.
If I could walk a mile in my grandma’s shoes
If I could know her now
That I am old
Her strength lives inside of me
Her passion
Her love of design
Her eye
I am of her
I wear her love
Her meticulousness
Her pride
My Grandma’s suit
I wear
Chanel.
I recently was gifted my grandmother’s suit, a Chanel design that my grandmother made for my aunt many years ago. It is a beautifully preserved meticulously created crème colored wool skirt and jacket trimmed with precision in gorgeous black silky braid trim adorned with large pearled buttons. An immigrant from Croatia, my grandmother left the former Yugoslavia with very little after losing the seaside cafe and home she owned with her husband during the communist takeover in WWII. My grandmother arrived in Chicago alone with her three young daughters, all of their belongings packed into two small suitcases.
My favorite memories of my grandmother were visiting her seamstress shop a short walk around the corner from Water Tower Place on Michigan Avenue. A shop filled with luxurious materials, scraps of cloth, mannequins, sewing machines, and pin cushions filled with colorful needles of all sizes and shapes. Whenever she came to visit us she came dressed in beautiful clothing, rich sweaters, and deeply hued scarves with pearls around her neck. She always had the latest Vogue magazine in her bag and often times she could be found cozied up on the couch enjoying the presence of her two youngest daughters and her grandchildren playing. To acquire a Chanel jacket is something that every classic fashionista covets, but to own a Chanel jacket made by the hands of my grandma is the ultimate treasure for me.
Modern Family Season 10 episode 17 Airing tonight!
I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to spend some time working on the set of ABC’s fantastic sitcom Modern Family! Catch me tonight on Season 10 episode 17 airing tonight on ABC at 9:00 pm PST! I am one of three “Brentwood ladies” and billed as “Allison #2”….and be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter for updates on future projects coming throughout the year!
Photography!
I have always had a passion for photography and people! From casual whimsical family photos shoots in the park, special family moments shot with empathy and compassion, and portraits for web sites, every shoot I do I arrive ready to connect and get the best shots possible for you to cherish and share! As we get into the holidays it’s is a great time to think about capturing some beautiful and memorable photos to share on your social media sites and holiday greetings! Contact me for more information and to schedule your photo shoot today! antoniajonesphotography@gmail.com
Busy year so far!
Boy, I cannot believe we are in the dog days of summer! I am really looking forward to a little bit of relief from this heat!
2018 started off with a bang! A sweet little filly actually! Tessa was born on January 13th and it's been quite an adventure watching her grow! Check out my instagram @antoniajonesactress for many photos documenting my adventures our beautiful rescue mare Reina and her "surprise" little offspring
I was also lucky enough to book not one, but two national commercial spots on a pretty huge advertising campaign for AT&T! See if you can find me out there playing a pediatric cardiologist! (a background of many years working in the medical field helped prepare me for that one!)
The summer was filled with wonderful family time and the much coveted visit with my inspiring step-daughter Ava. She is a little thespian in training whose passion for musical theatre and anime added quite a bit of refreshing flair to an otherwise quiet time of the year!
So here we are in the grueling heat of the summer. . Fires are burning in California and luckily for us, the air quality is still good here. However, our hearts are with the residents in the burn areas and our deepest gratitude is with the firefighters on the front lines...really hoping that the end of this heat wave brings some much needed relief.
I'm off now to ride Reina before the heat of the day sets in and then later I'll be writing writing writing because I'm inspired and, well.....there is so much to tell! :-) !
Happy Summer!
Acting!
Happy New Year!
The worst thing about being an actress is not being able to act every day. It's hard to be good at something unless you do it, a lot. This year I plan on acting a lot! A whole lot.....even if I have to do it alone!!!!
Tomorrow I'm going to audition for an AFI student film project and the producer on the show has requested a monologue. So, I chose this one and decided to put myself on tape just to make sure that I am fully comfortable with the material going in. Just thought I would share it here for fun! I shot this by myself. Operated the camera and acted to an imaginary person!
Enjoy, and keep checking back because I plan on doing a lot of this over the next twelve months!
Happy, Healthy, and Busy 2018!!!!!
Editing Ryan Gold's Demo
Just finished editing Ryan Gold's Demo, a cute little compilation from All American Bikini Car Wash! Super fun, check it out!
Shooting Headshots at Antonia Jones Photography
I have been doing a ton of shooting over the past eighteen months....parties, kids events, and just plain old cool people! Check out my photos at AJPhotography and on Facebook at Antonia Jones Photography! Today I had Frank help me playing around with this white backdrop and boy did we have a blast! Here are a few shots! Click on the image below!!!!!
New date for Criminal Minds episode "Unforgotten"!
Hi everyone! If you tried to tune in last week to Criminal Minds you probably noticed that CBS was airing two episodes of "Beyond Borders" instead of the regularly scheduled Criminal Minds in its usual time slot! The good news is that my episode called "Unforgotten" will be airing on Wednesday April 26th! (This week we've got a big episode of Survivor to watch!!!)
So, please be sure to watch on the 26th! It's a super cool episode and I'm in it!!!! :-)
SAVE THE DATE!
Hi Guys!!!! Be sure to save April 12, 2017 on your calendars so that you don't miss me as "Lisa Bower" on the awesome CBS show Criminal Minds! I am playing the wife of "Sam Bower" played by the very talented and handsome actor Hart Bochner! Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for reminders as we get closer!
Update! Time Flies
Wow! I can't believe it has been nearly a year since my last blog!
On the work front, the end of the 2016 was pretty busy. I co-produced a 90 second commercial and also shot footage for and co-produced a couple of short industrial films for Forever Oceans in Kona, Hawaii at the end of last summer! Here is one, check it out!
Locally in Los Angeles, I just finished working on an episode of the longtime running series Criminal Minds on CBS. It was so great to start the 2017 season working on "Unforgettable" written by the very lovely Stephanie Sengupta and directed by fellow Chicagoan, Carlos Bernard. I play "Lisa Bower" the wife of "Sam Bower" played by the very talented Hart Bochner in a scene with series regular Damon Gupton his character's wife, the gorgeous Tracie Thoms! Be sure to watch "Unforgettable" season 12 episode 20!
self-edited wedding video
i hired a really wonderful wedding videographer for my wedding but unfortunately he let us down when it came to editing out footage in a timely manner....so, I've been playing around with the footage myself while shopping for editors and I just wanted to share what I've done for my friends and family that were not able to attend!!!! Please enjoy!!!!
Colorful Color-filled Wedding Dresses
I'm so excited to have my wedding dress featured in this Style Me Pretty article!
Fun With Kids!
I so enjoy hanging out with kids! Last week the Elizabeth Ann MacDonald Foundation hosted another fun crafts event at Children's Hospital Los Angeles for the siblings of hospitalized children. It is so incredibly rewarding to see the smiles and the joy coming from these awesome youngsters who often times carry heavy burdens along with their families when faced with serious health issues in another child family member. To know that their time in the hospital is met with a little bit of sunshine in the ability to express themselves creatively and to have a few laughs with caring members of EAMF.org is just the best! Please check out the photos online at Antonia Jones Photography's Facebook page!
Silly face!
Loving Climax!
Climax is up an running and receiving rave reviews! This Saturday night, October 10th I am performing at 8pm! This is going to be a fabulous show with Mike C. Manning playing Jesse, my son! Don't miss this one as Mike is moving on to other big projects! This young man is a talent you will definitely be seeing more of and this is your chance to see him in live theatre!!!! Tickets will sell out quickly so get them now at the Santa Monica Playhouse! Just click here:
my opening night with my wonderful husband and Mike C. Manning!
backstage as Olivia Madison
Getting ready for my big opening on September 26th!
It's been incredibly fun getting back on the stage and preparing to perform in Lisa Phillip Visca's Climax with a fabulous cast! The show is a Fatal Attraction type thriller with Rae Dawn Chong playing the femme fatale to the innocent and vulnerable Olivia who comes back with a vengeance (that's my role!) The handsome Mike C. Manning plays my son and George Eddington is playing my scoundrel of a husband. Also rounding out the cast is the wonderful Everlyn Rudie and Dennis Visca! I am so thrilled to be working under the amazing direction of Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie at the beautiful Santa Monica Playhouse. Please be sure to catch my performance! Sept. 26th through Nov 1. Saturday evenings at 8pm and Sunday matinees at 3pm.
photo credit I.C. Rapoport
photo credit I.C. Rapoport
Climax at The Santa Monica Playhouse
We've started rehearsals for the world premier of Lisa Visca's thriller Climax at the Santa Monica Playhouse. I will be performing between September 26th and November 1 on Saturday nights at 8pm and Sunday afternoons at 3pm. I am so thrilled to be working with such an incredibly talented cast under the direction of Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie! Please mark your calendars and enjoy some theatre!
Doing a bit of character voice work in the Don Lafontaine Voiceover Lab!
How awesome is it to have access to the Don Lafontaine Voiceover Lab at SAGFoundation?! Yesterday I spent some time in the lab working on different character voices reading the children's favorite The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt! What a blast!
