Teletubbies was a cultural phenomenon on television in the 1990s. But while the four Teletubbies themselves became celebrities, the person behind the iconic Sun Baby was not well known. Now, the baby, Jess Smith, has spoken out about the role, detailing how little she was paid.
For millions of children growing up in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the beaming baby face that appeared above the Teletubbies’ colorful little world was a familiar sight. To be honest, few things were more recognizable.
But while the Teletubbies – Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po – became household names, there was another “character,” or more specifically a little girl, that would be one of the main characters of the show.
Behind a large, bright yellow sun in the Teletubby world, a young girl laughed. It became one of the show’s most recognizable features, but no one really knew who she was.
So, who is she? Her name is Jess Smith, and she’s from England. It all began in 1996, when her mother, Anji, took Jess to Edenbridge Hospital in Edenbridge, UK, for a routine weigh-in and health check-up.
Ragdoll Productions, the company behind Teletubbies, had asked the hospital to find smiling babies. When Jess arrived, the hospital forwarded her name to the production company, and the rest is history.
“It was just something a bit different to do, and we didn’t expect it to be as big as it was. They just sat her in front of a camera, and she just laughed and smiled at her dad. We didn’t hear anything until we got a letter when she was 18 months old saying she’d been picked. It was really weird seeing her on television,” Anji Smith told The Telegraph.
Teletubbies ‘Sun Baby’ Jessica Smith opens up about how much she was paid
As the young girl was filmed, Jess was put in a high-style chair so it would look as if she was looking down from the sun’s spot in the sky. Her fahter, the 49-year-old Bill, made her giggle and laugh by playing with a teddy bear in front of her face.
Speaking with Unilad, Jessica, who was just nine months old at the time, said she doesn’t remember a thing.
“I have no memory of watching it at all, believe it or not,” she told the outlet. “I’ve never been one to talk about the show or my appearance on it. It’s always been part of my life and something I hold on to.”
Becoming a television actress is surely a dream for many. Meanwhile, some might believe it will bring in huge stacks of money, especially if the show becomes a success. So did the Teletubby gig make Jess Smith a multimillionaire? Well, not exactly.
She previously revealed she was paid just £250, about $335, for the gig, along with some toys to take home.
Keeping her ‘Teletubbies’ legacy alive with daughter’s middle name
While the gig is surely fun to look back on, she might soon get to show her own children what their mother looked like when she was just months old, as Jess has become a mother of two.
“Now I am a full-time mom, and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Jess told Unilad. “I love being at home with my girls, and I hope it stays this way. My children are aware of the Teletubbies; we put it on occasionally.”
“They both recognize that it is me in the sun, by saying ‘mommy’ and pointing at it,” she added.
Teletubbies will always be a big part of her life, and when her daughter was born, Jess, now 31, decided to keep it forever. Her daughter was named Poppy with the middle name Rae, a sunny reference to the show, with Rae being the sun’s name.
Teletubbies first aired on the BBC in 1997. It aired for four years, ending in 2001, but returned years later. The show returned to CBeebies in 2015 and ran until 2018. In 2022, Netflix revived it again by releasing 26 episodes.
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