Ruth Alexandra Elizabeth Jones, MBE (born 22 September 1966) is a Welsh television actress and writer. She co-starred in and co-wrote the award-winning British comedy Gavin & Stacey and has appeared in many television comedies and dramas, such as Jimmy McGovern's The Street with Timothy Spall (2009), and starring as Hattie Jacques in Hattie for BBC Four.
She takes the lead role in the comedy drama series Stella for Sky 1 in which the series is produced by Tidy, the company she co-founded in 2008 with her husband David Peet, who is managing director.
Ruth Jones was born on 22 September 1966 in Bridgend, Glamorgan, Wales. Her father was a legal executive for British Steel Corporation, Port Talbot, and her mother was a child psychiatrist. She has two older brothers and a younger sister. Jones was brought up in Porthcawl where she attended Porthcawl Comprehensive School, the same school as Rob Brydon. After graduating from the University of Warwick with a degree in English and Theatre, she spent a year at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff.