Jessica Makinson has appeared in over 80 national commercials including the viral "Double Impact" commercial for Liquid-Plumr, by ad agency DDB, the ad earned recognition at the Clio Awards, Tarzan and Jane for Geico, and Apple iPhone TV Spot, 'Bokeh'd' which had over 19 million views. She has been a series regular on South Park, Trigger Happy TV, Joe Schmo 2, and Halfway Home. Other TV credits include recurring roles on Maron, Modern Family, Psych, and The Great Indoors.

After a 25-year on-camera career, Makinson turned her attention to directing. She has since been selected for the SHOOT 21st Annual New Directors Showcase 2023 and was chosen as a CDDP (Commercial Directors Diversity Program) Finalist in  2024. Her commercial work for PacificSource Health was awarded a Bronze Telly. She has shadowed a long list of directors for TV and commercials including Ian Brennan (alongside the Half-Initiative on “Monsters” for Netflix) Jon Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live), and Jonathan Krisel. Makinson’s short films have screened around the world at festivals including Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Fantasia Film Festival, Citizen Jane, and Cucalorus.

After being involved at the development level on episodic series Halfway Home, Makinson sold her first pilot, Jenn Jeffries: Professional Stalker to Comedy Central. Her feature script DisPlaceMent was twice a second-round selection for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 2020/2021. 

Makinson is a proud alumna and veteran performer at what used to be iOWest (2001-2018) and UCB LA. She still regularly performs with THEME PARK IMPROV at festivals worldwide.  She lives in Los Angeles with her editor husband and 5-year-old son, who is already a promising director.