Vinnie Jones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vinnie Jones
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![]() Jones in 2013
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Born |
Vincent Peter Jones
5 January 1965 Watford, Hertfordshire, England
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Occupation |
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Spouse(s) |
Tanya Terry
(m. 1994; |
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Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Association football career
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Vincent Peter Jones (born 5 January 1965) is a famous British actor and former professional footballer. He was also a TV presenter.
Vinnie Jones played as a defensive midfielder from 1984 to 1999. He played for well-known clubs like Wimbledon, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Chelsea, and Queens Park Rangers. He also played for and captained the Welsh national team. He was part of the famous "Crazy Gang" at Wimbledon. With them, he won the 1988 FA Cup final. He played over 200 games for Wimbledon in two periods between 1986 and 1998. He played 184 games in the Premier League, scoring 13 goals.
Vinnie Jones was known for his tough and physical style of play. This earned him a "hard man" image. After football, he started acting. His first film was Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). He won an Empire Award for Best Newcomer for this role. He then won the Empire Award for Best British Actor for Snatch (2000). He often plays strong characters in movies.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Vincent Peter Jones was born on 5 January 1965 in Watford, Hertfordshire. His parents were Glenda and Peter Jones. He went to schools in Bedmond and Abbots Langley. He was the captain of his school's football team. He has some Welsh and Irish family background.
Football Career Highlights
Playing for Clubs
Starting at Wealdstone
Vinnie Jones started playing football as a teenager. In 1984, at 19, he joined Wealdstone as a semi-professional player. This team was in the Alliance Premier League. Wealdstone won the non-league "double" in the 1984–85 season. Jones was part of the squad that won the FA Trophy final at Wembley Stadium in 1985. While playing, he also worked as a builder.
Playing in Sweden
In 1986, he played one season on loan in Sweden. He joined IFK Holmsund and helped them win the Division 3 Mellersta Norrland title.
Joining Wimbledon's "Crazy Gang"
In late 1986, Vinnie Jones became a full-time professional footballer. He was 21 when Wimbledon signed him for £10,000. He scored in his second game for Wimbledon on 29 November 1986. This was a 1–0 win against Manchester United.
He was a key player in the Wimbledon team that won the FA Cup in 1988. They beat league champions Liverpool 1–0 in the final. Wimbledon became a strong team in the First Division. Jones became known as a tough and energetic midfielder. He was a main member of Wimbledon's famous Crazy Gang.
Moving to Leeds United
In June 1989, Jones moved from Wimbledon to Leeds United for £650,000. He played almost every league game. Leeds won the Second Division title and were promoted to the First Division in 1990. Under manager Howard Wilkinson, Jones showed he could play well. He received only three yellow cards that season.
Time at Sheffield United
Jones left Leeds United early in the 1990–91 season. He joined Sheffield United in September 1990 for £700,000. His former Wimbledon manager, Dave Bassett, signed him. He played 35 matches for Sheffield United, scoring two goals.
Playing for Chelsea
A year later, on 30 August 1991, Jones was sold to Chelsea for £575,000. He played his first game for Chelsea the next day. He scored his first goal for Chelsea on 18 September 1991. He played 52 games for Chelsea, scoring 7 goals. He received only 3 yellow cards during his time there.
Returning to Wimbledon
After one season at Stamford Bridge, he returned to Wimbledon. This was in the early part of the 1992–93 season, when the Premier League had just started. He helped Wimbledon achieve their best league finish in 1993–94, finishing sixth in the Premier League. In another strong season, the club reached the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and the League Cup. They finished eighth in the Premier League. That season, he scored the winning goal against Arsenal at Highbury.
Finishing at Queens Park Rangers
He left Wimbledon for the second time in early 1998. He became a player/coach for QPR. He scored in his first game against Huddersfield Town. Vinnie Jones announced his retirement from football in late 1998 at age 34.
International Career for Wales
In December 1994, Vinnie Jones was chosen for the Welsh national squad. He qualified because his maternal grandfather was born in Ruthin, Wales. He played his first international game for Wales on 14 December 1994. This was a Euro 96 qualifier against Bulgaria. He played nine times for Wales. His last game was on 29 March 1997 against Belgium.
Playing Style and Records
Vinnie Jones was known for his "hard man" image on the football field. He was sent off 12 times during his career. He also holds the record for the quickest booking in a football match. He received a yellow card after just three seconds. This happened in an FA Cup game between Chelsea and Sheffield United in 1992.
Acting Career Journey

In 1998, Vinnie Jones started his film career. He appeared in Guy Ritchie's crime comedy Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. He played a character called Big Chris. For this role, he won the Empire Award for Best Newcomer in 1999.
Since then, he has often played similar roles. These include criminals or villains. He played "Bullet-Tooth Tony" in Guy Ritchie's 2000 film Snatch. For this, Jones won the Empire Award for Best British Actor in 2001. American audiences got to know him in the 2000 movie Gone in 60 Seconds. He played Sphinx, a tough character who had only one line of dialogue. He worked with director Dominic Sena again in Swordfish.
Jones played Danny Meehan in Mean Machine (2001). This was a British version of the film The Longest Yard. He played a former captain of the England national football team. His character goes to prison and leads a team of inmates against the prison guards. In the 2004 Japanese film Survive Style 5+, he played a hitman. He also played Mad Maynard in the 2004 film EuroTrip.
In 2006, he was in the film X-Men: The Last Stand. He played the comic book villain Juggernaut. He also appeared in another football film, She's the Man, as a coach. In 2007, he played McStarley in The Condemned. This film was about prisoners forced to fight on an island.
Jones was a housemate on the TV show Celebrity Big Brother 7 in 2010. He finished in third place. In 2011, he was in the Kazakhstani film Liquidator. His character was mute, so he didn't speak. He also voiced Freddie the Dog in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted in 2012. He acted alongside Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in Escape Plan (2013). In 2021, Jones was on the Australian version of The Masked Singer as "Volcano".
Personal Life Overview
Vinnie Jones met Tanya Terry when they were 12 years old. They were next-door neighbours. They got married in 1994. Tanya had a daughter from her first marriage. Vinnie Jones has a son, Aaron, born in 1991.
In November 2013, Jones received treatment for skin cancer. His wife had also been diagnosed with skin cancer many years before. Tanya passed away from cancer on 6 July 2019. Jones has said he does not plan to remarry.
Jones wrote an autobiography called Vinnie: The Autobiography. He now lives in both Los Angeles and Petworth, West Sussex.
Career Statistics
Club
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Wealdstone | 1984–85 | Alliance Premier League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
1985–86 | Alliance Premier League | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 27 | 2 | ||
Total | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 2 | ||
IFK Holmsund (loan) | 1986 | Division 3 Mellersta Norrland | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | |
Wimbledon | 1986–87 | First Division | 22 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 5 |
1987–88 | First Division | 24 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 2 | |
1988–89 | First Division | 31 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 3 | |
Total | 77 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 103 | 10 | ||
Leeds United | 1989–90 | Second Division | 45 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 52 | 5 |
1990–91 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 46 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 53 | 5 | ||
Sheffield United | 1990–91 | First Division | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 2 |
1991–92 | First Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
Total | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
Chelsea | 1991–92 | First Division | 35 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 45 | 6 |
1992–93 | Premier League | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
Total | 42 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 52 | 7 | ||
Wimbledon | 1992–93 | Premier League | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
1993–94 | Premier League | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 2 | |
1994–95 | Premier League | 33 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 3 | |
1995–96 | Premier League | 31 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 3 | |
1996–97 | Premier League | 29 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 3 | |
1997–98 | Premier League | 24 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 | |
Total | 177 | 12 | 15 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 201 | 13 | ||
Queens Park Rangers | 1997–98 | First Division | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
1998–99 | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | ||
Career total | 446 | 36 | 36 | 3 | 27 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 520 | 41 |
Football Honours and Awards
Wealdstone
- Alliance Premier League: 1984–85
IFK Holmsund
- Division 3 Mellersta Norrland: 1986
Wimbledon
- FA Cup: 1987–88
Leeds United
- Football League Second Division: 1989–90
Filmography
Film Roles
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels | Big Chris | Won - Empire Award for Best Newcomer |
2000 | Gone in 60 Seconds | Sphinx | |
Snatch | Bullet Tooth Tony | ||
2001 | Swordfish | Marco | |
Night at the Golden Eagle | Rodan | ||
Mean Machine | Danny Meehan | ||
2004 | The Big Bounce | Lou Harris | |
Tooth | The Extractor | ||
EuroTrip | 'Mad' Maynard | ||
Survive Style 5+ | Killer | ||
Blast | Michael Kittredge | ||
2005 | Slipstream | Winston Briggs | |
Submerged | Henry | ||
Hollywood Flies | Sean | ||
Mysterious Island | Bob | TV film | |
2006 | The Number One Girl | Dragos Molnar | |
Johnny Was | Johnny Doyle | ||
She's the Man | Coach Dinklage | ||
The Other Half | Trainer | ||
Played | Detective Brice | ||
X-Men: The Last Stand | Cain Marko / Juggernaut | ||
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties | Rommel | Voice role | |
2007 | The Condemned | Ewan McStarley | |
7–10 Split | Roddy Nightengale | ||
The Riddle | Mike Sullivan | ||
Strength and Honour | 'Smasher' O'Driscoll | AoFIFF - Best Supporting Actor (see awards) | |
Tooth & Nail | Mongrel | ||
2008 | Hell Ride | Billy 'Wings' | |
Loaded | Mr. Black | ||
The Midnight Meat Train | Mahogany | 2 Noms - Best Supporting Actor (see awards) | |
2009 | (Untitled) | Ray Barko | |
Year One | Sargon | ||
Assault of Darkness | Mr. Hunter | ||
The Heavy | Edgar Dunn | ||
The Ballad of G.I. Joe | Destro | ||
The Bleeding | Cain | ||
2010 | Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball | Finbar 'The Surgeon' McTeague | |
Locked Down | Anton Vargas | ||
Inversion | Doug | ||
2011 | Kill the Irishman | Keith Ritson | |
Age of the Dragons | Stubbs | ||
You May Not Kiss the Bride | Brick | ||
The Liquidator | Killer | ||
Blood Out | Zed | ||
Cross | Gunnar | ||
Not Another Not Another Movie | Nancy Longbottom | ||
2012 | Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted | Freddie 'The Dog' | Voice role |
Hijacked | Joe Ballard | ||
Freelancers | Sully | ||
The Diamond Heist | Jack Varga | ||
Fire with Fire | Boyd | ||
2013 | Company of Heroes | Brent Willoughby | |
Fractured | Quincy | ||
Armed Response | Tillinghast | ||
Escape Plan | Drake | ||
Extraction | Ivan Rudovsky | ||
Ambushed | Vincent Camastra | ||
Blood of Redemption | Campbell | ||
2014 | Redirected | Golden Pole | |
A Certain Justice | Bennett | ||
Way of the Wicked | John Eliott | ||
Beyond Justice | Vincent De La Cruz | ||
Reaper | Rob | ||
Gutshot Straight | Carl | ||
The Calculator | Yust Van Borg | ||
2015 | The Enforcer | Renner | |
Left to Die | Sarge | ||
Mercenary: Absolution | The Boss | ||
Rivers 9 | Ray Kaplan | ||
Checkmate | Lu | ||
6 Ways to Die | John Doe | ||
Gridlocked | Ryker | ||
Bite | John 'Big John' | ||
2016 | Kill Kane | Ray Brookes | |
Decommissioned | Michael Price | ||
The Midnight Man | Pearl | ||
2017 | Cross Wars | Gunnar | |
2019 | The Gandhi Murder | Sir Norman Smith | |
Madness in the Method | Vinnie | ||
Cross: Rise of the Villains | Gunnar | ||
2020 | Ron Hopper's Misfortune | Ron Hopper | |
I Am Vengeance: Retaliation | Sean Teague | ||
The Big Ugly | Neelyn | ||
2021 | Rise of the Footsoldier Origins | Bernard O'Mahoney | |
The Bezonians | Willard Greb | ||
2022 | Bullet Proof | Temple | |
TBA | Overtown | Cutty | Delayed |
Hypnotized | Completed | ||
Cross 4 | Gunnar | Filming | |
Reckless | Trent | Filming |
Television Appearances
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1993 | Gladiators | Himself | Episode: "Battle of the Gladiators" |
Sean's Show | Himself | Episode: "Great Socks" | |
2003 | Top Gear | Himself | Series 2, Episode 1, "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment |
2005 | Extras | Himself | Episode: "Ross Kemp & Vinnie Jones" |
2010 | Chuck | Karl Stromberg | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Three Words" |
2011 | The Cape | Dominic Raoul / Scales | 6 episodes |
2013 | Elementary | Colonel Sebastian Moran | 2 episodes |
2014 | Psych | Ronnie Ives | Episode: "Lock, Stock, Some Smoking Barrels and Burton Guster's Goblet of Fire" |
The Musketeers | Martin Labarge | Episode: "The Challenge" | |
Mind Games | Isaac Vincent | 2 episodes | |
2015 | Police Interceptors | Himself | |
2015–2016 | Galavant | Gareth | All 18 episodes |
2015–2018 | Arrow | Danny 'Brick' Brickwell | 9 episodes |
2016 | MacGyver | John Kendrick | The Rising (MacGyver) |
2018 | Deception | Gunter Gastafsen | All 13 episodes |
2019 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Rick Dorsey | Episode: "A Bloody Brilliant Plan" |
2020 | Harry's Heroes | Himself | 1 episode |
2021 | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Albi Briscu | 8 episodes |
2023 | Tracked | Himself | |
2023—present | Vinnie Jones in the Country | Himself | All 6 episodes. Second series commissioned. |
2024—present | The Gentlemen | Geoff Seacombe | 8 episodes. Second series commissioned |
Stage Performances
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2024–2025 | Only Fools and Horses The Musical | Danny Driscoll | At Hammersmith Apollo from 17 December 2024 to 5 January 2025 |
Music Videos
- Westlife - "Bop Bop Baby" (2002)
- As Duke Vincent, a villain who imprisons the band members.
- Steve Aoki & LOOPERS - "Pika Pika" (2018)
- Footage was reused from an unreleased video.
Discography
Studio Albums
- 2002: Respect
Singles
- "Wooly Bully" (1993)
Awards and Nominations
Year | Awards | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Empire Awards | Empire Award for Best Newcomer | Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels | Won | |
2001 | Empire Awards | Empire Award for Best British Actor | Snatch | Won | |
2008 | Action on Film International Film Festival, USA | Best Supporting Actor | Strength and Honour | Won | |
Fright Meter Awards | The Midnight Meat Train | Nominated | |||
2009 | Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Nominated | |||
2020 | UK Film Festival | Best Actor | The Big Ugly | Won | |
British Film Festival | Best Stunt Performing Actors (shared) | I Am Vengeance: Retaliation | Won | ||
2021 | Lonely Wolf: London International Film Festival | Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | The Big Ugly | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor of the Year | The Bezonians | Nominated |
See also
In Spanish: Vinnie Jones para niños