Illustration by Peter Oumanski

Every issue, GRAZIA USA highlights 17 Game Changers, who inspire, educate, and celebrate individuality, beauty, and style. Meet the English actress Jessica Pummer, who’s manifesting the life of her dreams, one project at a time.

There’s a saying: “Everything will be OK in the end, and if it’s not then it’s not the end.” I’ve definitely used that saying in times of desperation — including in the past two years.

I’m the daughter of a dad who always made me believe that I could be anything I wanted, and a mother who kept my two feet firmly on the ground. I feel like having the support that I did from family and close friends, I truly believed that I could do what I wanted to. I left school and decided to chase my dreams. I went to Identity School of Acting in London. If I hadn’t found them, I’m not sure how I would have gotten to where I am now.

My professional career started when I was 18. My first acting job was on a show called Wizards vs. Aliens, and it was while I was shooting that, that these auditions for a girl group were happening. I kind of went on a whim. I love to sing. I love to perform. Acting is my path, but why not? I had nothing to do that Monday at 4 p.m. — or whenever it was.

I made the cut. I was going to be in Neon Jungle and we were going to tour the world! I think because of that experience, the belief in manifesting your dreams was truly solidified.

I believe it was my years of putting on performances in the playground and for my parents at home that made it possible.

But Neon Jungle was a whirlwind. It kind of ended as quickly as it started. We collectively, as a group, decided to call it a day. Afterward, I remember my manager at the time saying to me, “You want to go back to acting, don’t you?” I did — 100 trillion percent. I missed everything about acting so much!

The Girl Before coming out [on HBO Max] was such a gear change for my career. It’s just a challenge. A role like this is something juicy to get into, to push myself to my limits. Can I go there? Am I able to do this? How can I best represent someone who is going through this?

I know there’s probably a part of everybody that wants to leave their footprint on the world. The hope in playing a role like Emma in the series is that an audience member, somebody in that position might recognize signs of abuse or trauma earlier. Things end tragically for my character, but I think the hope in having these stories on TV is that they’re, sadly, relatable to people. But, people can spot red flags and make necessary changes. The glimmer of hope is that it will potentially make a difference for the audience. And that’s definitely part of feeling good about my work.

The past couple of years have been so testing and so different from anything that we’re used to. But rewind a few hundred years back: Was that any better? We’re going through a pandemic, but at the same time we’re so lucky with the technology and the science that we have, to be able to get the vaccine.

There are times when I think my grandchildren are going to be swimming to school with the state of the bloody climate at the moment! But as a mom, I look at my daughter and she is my biggest inspiration. She is so present and in the moment. I want to be more like her! Generation by generation, we’re all adapting and learning. The world is absolutely crazy right now, but I think things are heading in the right direction. I definitely see hope in my daughter, and I feel really proud of that.

— As told to John Russell

Pick up GRAZIA USA’s March 2022 issue on newsstands and email [email protected] to subscribe.