January Jones’ 10 Greatest Roles, According To IMDb

Whether you know her from being in Mad Men or her time in the X-Men universe, January Jones is certainly an actress you’ll have heard of. She’s an incredibly talented actress who has appeared in countless television series and movies, playing a variety of roles throughout her career.

She’s worked as the ultimate villain as well as a sympathetic hero and has always put in tremendous performances. Jones brings not only a gorgeous face but also a wide range of emotion to all her performances which makes her a brilliant addition to any cast.

Within this list we will be taking a deep dive into her career so far, taking a look at some of her best work. Here are January Jones’ 10 greatest roles, according to IMDb ratings.

10 We Are Marshall: 7.1 (2006)

We kickstart this list with the movie, We Are Marshall, where January Jones plays a supporting role as Carole Dawson, who plays the wife of Matthew Fox’s character. The film is based on an incredibly sad real-life plane crash that unfortunately saw 37 Marshall University footballers die.

Dawson’s husband isn’t actually on the plane, but she does have to work as a support mechanism to him as he struggles to cope with the loss of so many people he is close with. It’s a very raw and emotional movie, and Jones’ performance really is tremendous.

9 The Last Man On Earth: 7.3 (2015-2018)

Outside of her appearances on Mad Men, January Jones’ role as Melissa Shart on The Last Man On Earth is likely how most people are familiar with her as an actress. Melissa is one of the main characters on the show, and is an ex estate agent whose husband cheats on her.

The series really follows Melissa’s difficulty in the world of romance, as far as her storyline is concerned. Although, in the third season it takes a major shift when she ends up murdering Darrell and begins to battle with suicidal feelings, which showcases some huge emotions for Jones to get stuck in with.

8 The Three Burials: 7.4 (2005)

The Three Burials is a western movie, which is a totally different genre from what most people would expect to see January Jones in. She plays the role of Lou Ann Norton in this film, who learns that her husband (a border patrol officer,) kills a Mexican immigrant.

It leads to her moving on and making the decision to leave him, going onto a new life all on her own. Interestingly, the story behind this film is actually based on an incident from real life, which gives quite a personal touch to the film.

7 The Boat That Rocked: 7.4 (2009)

The Boat The Rocked (which is also known as Pirate Radio,) is a fantastic comedy movie that is centered all-around music. It is set back in the days of pirate radio stations where boats would play rock music on the airwaves, despite the fact it was against the law.

This film focuses on the DJ’s from one boat, and January Jones plays Eleanore, who is one of the women who visit. She marries Simon, who is one of the boats real nice guys, unfortunately, the marriage is a sham, as she is actually sleeping with another DJ behind his back, which leads to one of the movies most emotional scenes.

6 The Politician: 7.5 (2019-)

January Jones pops up for three episodes of The Politician, playing the role of Lizbeth Sloan. She happens to be the mother of one of the shows main characters, Astrid, who is played by Lucy Boynton. She appears a few times and helps to further the main plot of the show.

The Politician focuses on a High School as two students run to be voted the student body president, with Astrid being the girlfriend of one candidate, River Barkley. It’s a great look at how politics uses different victims to promote things, using the scope of a high school environment to really open the conversation to a younger audience.

5 Love Actually: 7.6 (2003)

Love Actually is a Christmas movie set in England which features an incredible ensemble cast of, predominantly, English actors. The likes of Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, and Emma Thompson all-star, with January Jones being one of very few Americans in the cast.

She appears because one of the characters storylines (Colin) takes him to America to shake up his life. It is there he meets Jones’ character in a bar where she and her friends fall in love with him and his British accent. It’s only a small role, but Jones is very funny throughout her scenes.

4 X-Men: First Class: 7.7 (2015)

January Jones jumped into the world of comic book heroes and superpowers in 2015 when she was cast in X-Men: First Class. The film took a different twist to the popular characters and took the story back to the past, taking a look at how the X-Men came to be.

Jones plays a villain in this movie by the name of Emma Frost and happens to be a mutant. Her main power is telepathy, yet she can also turn her body into a diamond, giving her other powers. She works alongside Klaus Schmidt in the film, attempting to help him and his evil scheme.

3 Spinning Out: 7.7. (2020)

Spinning Out is January Jones’ latest project, which was aired on Netflix, and, as the rating shows, was met by a fairly positive response. Within this series, Jones plays the part of Carol Baker, who is the mother of the lead role, Kat Baker.

The series focuses predominantly on Kat who is an ice skater. Unfortunately, she suffers a horror injury and the series is about her trying to get a career back on track afterwards. However, she also has to deal with her family’s secret with mental health, which is where Jones’ character comes in to play as Carol suffers heavily with bipolar.

2 Huff: 7.9 (2005)

January Jones was only part of two episodes of Huff; “The Good Doctor,” and “The Sample Closet,” which were both part of the first season of the show. Even though she only had a supporting role in two episodes, she certainly made her presence felt on the show.

Jones played the character of Marisa Wells who worked in the pharmaceutical business. She worked as an antagonist here as she attempts to make the lead role, Huff, prescribe tons of drugs to his patients in order to get rid of them. It’s a small role that only served to further the character of Huff, but it’s one Jones did perfectly.

1 Mad Men: 8.6 (2007-2015)

Unsurprisingly, January Jones’ greatest role, according to IMDb is as Betty Draper in the hit series, Mad Men. January Jones played Betty throughout all seven seasons, who was one of the main characters within the show as the housewife of the lead role, Don Draper.

Her character is a fairly immature one who often is afraid to make big decisions or have belief in herself. Yet she provides some of the most emotional moments throughout the show, from divorcing with Don to her heartbreaking end, all of which is played perfectly by Jones.

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