Biography

Jessica Lemon Wilkinson (born August 12, 1976, Mississippi) is an American actress, theatre performer, and acting teacher who grew up in the Deep South and began acting at an early age. She studied theatre at Hinds Community College and Mississippi College, where she also earned a master's degree in English, and began working professionally in regional theatre in 2001. Her film career started with industrial training films and commercials before her big screen break when James Franco cast her in As I Lay Dying (2013). She is a SAG-AFTRA member, sings with a bluegrass band called Angel Bandits, and is the mother of two children. From 2016 to 2025 she taught English, theatre, and public speaking at Jackson Preparatory School in Mississippi. Her notable credits include As I Lay Dying (2013) (James Franco, Jessica Chastain), Starve (2014) (Griffin Furst, Cooper Huckabee), Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser (2015) (David Spade, Brittany Daniel), I Killed My BFF (2015) (Katrina Bowden, Annabel Barrett), The Livingston Gardener (2015) (Ryan Roy, Christine Elise), Every Time a Bell Rings (2021) (Erin Cahill, Major Dodge), and Lies My Sister Told Me (2022) (Nicole Marie Sisinni, John Michael Higgins). On television she appeared in Civil War: The Untold Story (2014) (Dylan Walsh, Michael Cudlitz) and Boots (2025).