Story by Jessica Bumpus, Photography by Hannah Cosgrove, Styling (fashion) by Alicia Ellis, Styling (jewellery) by Felix Bischof
In a former life, Amy Jackson, the impressive Scouse actress who has made a name for herself across Indian cinema, recalls popping into the accessories high street favourite Mikey ahead of Friday nights out in Liverpool.
“We’d have a lovely gorgeous new dress and we’d want some matching jewellery to go with it,” she says. “They had all the bling and all the drama… and I mean the bigger the better. Typically, she would have two chandeliers hanging from her ears. “I’ve always loved a bit of drama when it comes to jewellery,” she says. “And I’m so fortunate now to wear the real deal. That novelty never wears off.”
Jackson has been working with the luxury jewellery maison Chopard for the past three years, and by now is well versed on red carpet life (her Instagram, which boasts 12.9m followers, shows some particularly sparkly moments).
Today, on our shoot (which has a high fashion 1990s feel to it), she has enjoyed learning about the different jewels and gems she’s been wearing, including Chopard as well as Bulgari, Graff and Louis Vuitton, among them. “Being able to wear these incredible jewels, a dream,” she says.
In her own words, the actress – whose work you may or may not yet be familiar with; she was also on the American superhero television series Supergirl – confesses her career has been “so random and so beautiful at the same time”, and points out it’s not something she could ever have planned. And when you hear its trajectory, you’ll understand why.
Jackson never set out to be an actress. But one day when she was about 14 or 15, she was scouted by a model agent at Manchester Piccadilly station as she got off the train with her sister. This in turn, circa 2008, led to her being spotted by a film director: she was cast as the Governor’s daughter in the 2010 film Madrasapattinam.
“And that gave me a whole career over in India then which was a crazy whirlwind. I’d never experienced anything like it, especially at that age,” she says. “I think I had never travelled further than Spain on a holiday and then I was blown into the water with Bollywood and India and a whole different culture and it just led me to a whole new way of life.”
She had every intention of going back to school and treading the traditional path of university life. But, instead, she would end up living in Mumbai for five years; learning Hindi and Tamil with the help of a tutor and learning on the job – where she discovered her passion and indeed a new and very fruitful career path.
“Do you know what my mum said? Because obviously, I hadn’t done films before and not really much drama in school – I enjoyed it but I didn’t see it as a career path. And I remember being on the plane and my mum was like – I was 15 at the time – and she said, ‘Amy, I really hope you can act’. I was like ‘So do I!’”.
It’s the sort of perfectly fun and down-to-earth comment that sums up Jackson. She credits her parents with installing in her a can-do attitude. “I think I’ve been raised in that kind of environment with my mum and dad who are like ‘Take every opportunity when it comes’, and they really encouraged that. And I think that’s why India came so naturally. They encouraged me, supported me, they travelled with me, so they didn’t want me to miss any kind of adventure in life so that’s what I always look for and that’s what I strive for,” she says. It’s something she tells her young son now. “It’s so crazy now I don’t think any dream is too big. I really believe that and I fully encourage my son to believe you can do anything.”
Jackson does believe in fate but also believes in hard work: persistence, determination and dedication. “Because the film industry is tough. And the competition is tough. And it didn’t come naturally at first but I really stuck with it. I loved it. I was passionate about it. It’s creative and I didn’t realise I loved it until I was thrown in at the deep end.”
This year she’s looking forward to introducing two new films, both of which lean towards playing something more badass in vibe, which she has been keen to add to her acting repertoire.“They are serious action-packed movies,” she says, excitedly. “I trained really hard for both of them in kickboxing and jiu-jitsu. So I’ll be showcasing a bit of that in them.”
Sure enough, a quick Google of Mission, a film by A. L. Vijay, in which she plays Sandra James, a chief prison officer at Wandsworth prison, shows her holding her own in a brawl utilising an impressive elbow strike.
In Crakk, which was filmed in London, Poland and Mumbai, she plays Patricia, an FBI agent. “The storylines are fantastic, the characters are real kick-ass female powerhouses which has been really refreshing,” she says. “So I feel like it releases my inner action chick which is great. And I’ve really wanted to play those kinds of characters because, although in the past I’ve played some incredible roles, I feel like there is real room, especially in Indian films for women to portray, you know, strong independent, feisty characters, which I’m seeing a lot more of in scripts which is great.”
“To be a part of that and new scripts,” she adds, “and new roles is really important and I’m really excited to have that on screen.” A typical day for Jackson begins around 5 am, followed by meditation, two pages of journaling, a Peloton workout and coffee. “I know I have to work out and I know I have to get out in nature.” Then she is set for whatever the day has in store.
Besides her acting and being a mother, she is involved with and supports numerous causes and charities, including PETA and the Elephant Family, all of which are tremendously important to her. Her relationship with jewellery is one she says has changed over the last 10 to 15 years. From the £10 pair of Mikey earrings to beautiful pearls, rubies and jewels from the 1940s on Madrasapattinam, to red carpet jewels (she prefers the classics), and her relationship with Chopard.
“Since I was a little girl I would come to London and see it [Chopard] in the window and go goo goo ga ga over all the beautiful diamonds and jewels,” she recalls. “I think one of the aspects that stands out for me is Caroline [Scheufele, co-president and artistic director of Chopard],” says Jackson. “She is Chopard, she’s very heavily involved, she designs, and the essence of it and I think that’s really special for a jewellery brand. Plus, it’s cinema” – the maison has had a longstanding relationship with Cannes.
She confesses she is a classic diamond-loving girl when it comes to the red carpet and when she puts on a pair of diamond earrings, it’s instant “Elizabeth Taylor vibes”. “I think jewellery for me,” says Jackson, “jewellery is fun and [an] expression and being able to do that is part of the whole getting ready.”
Hair by Shukeel Murtaza, Make up by Barrie Griffith, Jewellery assistant Joshua Hendren, Styling assistant Imy Moore
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