Jessica Marais
Actor · Born January 29, 1985 (41) · Johannesburg, South Africa
Jessica Marais (born 29 January 1985) is a South-African-born Australian actress best known for her roles on Australian television in Packed to the Rafters and Love Child. She also co-starred on the American drama series Magic City. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Marais and her family lived in Canada and New Zealand before relocating to Perth, Western Australia, when she was nine. Six months after arriving in Australia, Marais' father Tony died from a heart attack while returning from a family picnic. Marais and her younger sister Clara were raised by her mother Karen. She attended a Catholic co-educational school John XXIII College in Claremont for a year and then went to St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls from 1995 until her graduation in 2002. Jessica attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art where she graduated in 2007. NIDA appearances included Ophelia in William Shakespeare's Hamlet and Charity in Sweet Charity. While still completing her final year she won the role in Packed to the Rafters, along with co-star and fellow NIDA graduate Hugh Sheridan. Marais was engaged to former Packed to the Rafters co-star James Stewart in 2009, then ended in 2015. They have a daughter together born in May 2012.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 29, 1985 (41)
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Actor
- 7 on MovieCove · 10 credits in all
What are Jessica Marais' films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
Light 1 · Serious 1 · Dark 1
Grounded 3 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 2
Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
- Allyas Janine in Chasing Wonders (2020)
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet1
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Jessica Marais' films?
As of October 24, 2026, all 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
- Curiosity Stream
Subscription and free streaming for Jessica Marais' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
10 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.
Chasing Wonders(2020)
Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films
The Wrong Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
That Sugar Film(2014)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Carlotta(2014)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Love Child (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Magic City(2012)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all shows
Needle(2010)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Two Fists, One Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Legend of the Seeker(2008)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all shows
Packed to the Rafters(2008)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows
Career shape
Star power in the 75th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 10 titles from 2008 to 2021; peak year 2014.
Biggest box office
Needle (2010)
Highest rated
Packed to the Rafters (2008)
Most popular right now
Magic City (2012)
Film career
Peak 2014 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2008Screen debut· Legend of the Seeker
- 2010First film· Needle
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Jessica Marais' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 53rd percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 28th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 7 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the acting 62/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 78, detractors 45. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.