How Jasmine Jobson went from 'most difficult child in Westminster' to BAFTA winner: Top Boy star who bagged Best Supporting Actress put herself into foster care at 14 and sold cannabis for cash as a teen - but says her role in the show 'changed her life'
- Jobson, 29, is set to star in a new film alongside Barry Keoghan later this year
- READ MORE: BAFTA Television Awards viewers claim Happy Valley was 'ROBBED' of Best Drama win after Top Boy claimed prize
Jasmine Jobson was the star of Sunday night's BAFTAs, claiming the coveted Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Jacqueline Lawrence in Netflix's Top Boy.
She was the surprise success story of the evening, fighting off competition from the likes of Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown), Harriet Walter (Succession) and Siobhan Finneran ('Happy Valley').
The stunning star almost broke down in tears after her win as she commanded attention in a gorgeous white and silver gown.
Speaking in a press conference after the awards ceremony, the actress, who has previously been nominated three times before finally claiming her prize, said her role in Top Boy had 'changed her life' and means acting can now 'pay her bills'.
Her comments seemed to be a nod to her difficult past, which has seen Jobson face numerous hardships on her journey into acting.
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Jasmine Jobson was the star of Sunday night's BAFTAs , claiming the coveted Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Jacqueline Lawrence in Netflix 's Top Boy
Jasmine, 29, said: 'It's been a job that has changed my life.
'I was just a normal girl from west London that was just trying to do better for myself and was just wishing and hoping for the best.
'And one day I went from working in a bar full time and acting part time to suddenly acting full time and now acting pays my bills. So Top Boy changed my life.'
Many had expected Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Princess Diana in The Crown, to claim Best Supporting Actress but the show walked away without an award - despite eight nominations.
Jasmine joined Top Boy in series three in 2019 when it moved from Channel 4 to Netflix, as a member of the Summerhouse drug dealers in Hackney.
The crime drama series, which features rapper Drake as an executive producer, finished after five series last September with a shocking final scene.
Jasmine's rise to fame hasn't been a simple one. She was once known as the 'most difficult child in Westminster' by social services and has previously admitted she got into the 'wrong crowd' as a teenager.
As a young girl, Jasmine grew up around the Harrow Road area in London when her mother saw her theatrical potential and put her into the Paddington Arts, a performance group for young children.
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Glamorous Jasmine, 29, was the surprise winner at Sunday night's BAFTAs - and had previously been nominated for the award three times
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Jasmine has had a difficult past and put herself into foster care at the age of 14 in a bid for a better life
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Jasmine joined Top Boy in 2019 when it moved to Netflix as Jacqueline Lawrence
Even from such a young age, Jasmine was already a star, playing Mary in her year one Nativity play at school, and later playing Romeo in Romeo and Juliet.
But in year eight, circumstances meant she had to move in with her grandmother and she began to get involved with the wrong crowd of people and, like her Top Boy character, began selling cannabis.
She previously told The Evening Standard: 'My behaviour used to be what you would call a hood rat. I was selling drugs, causing trouble with police, on the streets but I could see my behaviour was hurting people. Since I've been in care I've been 100 per cent in control.
'I ended up getting my GCSEs, I wasn't going to do them if it hadn't been for my foster carer. I kind of had to put myself into care to save myself.
'I was portrayed as the most difficult child in Westminster, I was told that by social services.'
Aged 14, Jasmine made the brave decision to put herself into foster care and moved to West Drayton.
There, her foster mother Valerie gave her stability for more than four years. During this time, she was introduced to Maggie Norris, the founder of Big House arts centre in Islington, which works with young people to help them turn their lives around.
The centre taught her many skills and helped her work on her acting. She performed in Big House show The Realness - and was signed by an agent within three weeks.
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The stunning star almost broke down in tears after her win as she commanded attention in a gorgeous white and silver gown (pictured accepting her award)
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Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Princess Diana in The Crown, had widely been expected to win Best Supporting Actress
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Jasmine was once known as the 'most difficult child in Westminster' by social services
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Jasmine is pictured as a teenager when she was involved with Big House theatre company
The experiences helped her learn how to channel her emotions into acting instead of taking them out in more damaging ways.
This was clearly shown in her final audition for Top Boy: Jasmine has often told the story of how she threw a chair across the room to stand out from the crowd.
Valerie died when Jasmine was 19 and she had to go back to the area of London where she'd struggled previously.
But a good social worker fought hard on her behalf and managed to get her a council house in Westminster, from which she could focus on her acting.
In Top Boy, Jasmine's character Jaq starts a romance with Becks, played by Adwoa Aboah, and takes in her pregnant sister Lauryn to protect her from her abusive boyfriend.
But after Lauryn dies from an overdose in the bath, Jaq decides to leave the dealing life and run away with Becks and her nephew.
In October last year, Jasmine went Instagram official with her co-star boyfriend Kadeem Ramsay, who plays Kit on the show, but was forced to turn off comments due to trolling on her post.
Jasmine shared a photo of the couple kissing during a romantic trip to Champillon, France, captioning her post: 'You can't sit with us.'
Jasmine's character Jaq is a lesbian and it appears some fans believed her to be gay in real life too as she emphasised she is an actress playing a role.
She wrote: 'I'm an ACTRESS. My job is to play dress-up & pretend. I take a script and make it palatable for your eyes to watch.
'I am also a HUMAN BEING, LIKE ALL OF YOU, just living my life. Be kind'.
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Top Boy came to an end in September 2023 after five seasons, after Jasmine (pictured on the show) joined in 2019
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Jasmine is dating her Top Boy co-star Kadeem Ramsay, who plays Kit on the show (pictured together in November)
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This year Jasmine is set to star in Bird by Andrea Arnold opposite Saltburn's Barry Keoghan
Jasmine is so central to the show that the creator Ronan Bennett has even confirmed he is in talks with Netflix over a spin-off focusing on Jasmine's character, Jaq.
The actress has also starred in Good Thanks, You? a short film where she plays a 16-year-old traumatised by a sexual assault.
She featured in psychological thriller Surge alongside James Bond's Ben Whishaw as Lily as they both played guards who man X-Ray machines.
In a previous interview with the Daily Mail, she said she enjoys projects with a message, especially if that message concerns a subject that's 'taboo', and she described her work ethic as 'grab the bull by the horns ...and sprint with it'.
This year Jasmine is set to star in Bird by Andrea Arnold opposite Saltburn's Barry Keoghan.