Nobody can forget the antics of the four brightly colored baby aliens of the whimsical children’s television show Teletubbies. Or the face of the Sun Baby that always shone in the sky.
UK woman Jess Smith was the original face of the Sun Baby in Teletubbies. And now she’s all grown up. However, the fact that she played the iconic role was not made known to the general public until she reached her university years. There, her friends encouraged her to come out with it for the first time.
Jess made her start as the Sun Baby at only nine-months-old. She landed the role because of a trip to the hospital for a routine checkup.
Apparently, a midwife at the hospital had connections to a local production company who was searching for a happy, smiling baby, and her name was offered up.
“From then I had to go through auditions and short lists until they finally picked one person, ME!” Jess wrote in an Instagram post.
Also included in the post was an article from a magazine and a letter from the show’s creators to prove her identity.
The star revealed that she doesn’t have much memory of her time on TV. She was told that during the recording process, her dad held up a teddy bear to the camera to get her to laugh. He also rolled toy cars around on the floor to get her to look down at the camera when they needed different angles.
You may be wondering if Jess is still pursuing acting today. Well, she actually chose to go in a different direction. Currently, she lives in Whitstable and has a job at a security company.
She plans to travel before settling down and starting a family.
People on Instagram are showering her with love for being such a large part of their more youthful years.
“Awww wow thanks for making my childhood,” commented one user.
“You will forever be loved,” wrote another.
Teletubbies began in 1997, and the final episode aired in 2001.