Photo: YouTube
Crazy!
By Caithlin Pena — Written on Jun 05, 2020
In another edition of "Where Are They Now?" who remembers the adorable baby head who played the sun in Teletubbies? We sure do! Her face (yes, it was a real baby!) graced the morning televisions of many a pre-schooler, and is as infamous as the Gerber baby.
She was a celebrity amongst the infants, toddlers, and their harried parents. But as we all realized later on, even sun babies don't stay sun babies forever.
In 2015, the world (once again) met 19-year-old Jess Smith, who was a Canterbury Christ Church University dance student in her first year.
She was also the face that greeted and giggled along with Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Lala, and Po on their daily adventures in Teletubbyland many years prior.
Smith kept her sun baby past a secret for many years. But after an assignment that required students to reveal something about themselves that no one else would guess, she decided that it was time.
On a Facebook status back in 2014, Smith said, "So I've recently celebrated my 19th birthday and after a lot of thought, I've decided it's time to tell everyone. I used to hide it, but after a lot of encouragement from my friends at university, I've gained the confidence to come out with it. I am the sun from Teletubbies. There has been quite a few people pretending to be 'the sun', but only I could tell you the real story."
She also said in regards to her fellow peers, “I thought I may as well tell them as I’m going to be spending the next three years with them.”
Imagine that: the icon from your childhood sitting in the seat right beside you, worrying about tomorrow's homework. And you didn't even know it!
According to the interview with Smith's mother, her signature giggles were filmed in the midst of playing with her father, who was off camera. She said, “They just sat her in front of a camera and she just laughed and smiled at her dad.”
Smith was paid £250 and given a box of toys for her smile and giggles. And while many years may have passed, we think she still has that adorable sunny smile we all know and love.
In 2019, Smith popped back into the spotlight again after a photo of her holding a child on her lap started circulating on the Internet. Fans freaked out, assuming that the infamous sun baby had now had a baby of her own.
Luckily, the Teletubbies were here to save the day, much like they had done during our childhoods. They took to their official Twitter account with a tweet that read, "no, the Teletubbies sun baby didn't have a baby."
They also cleared things up by explaining that the child in the photo was actually the new sun baby, who was going to be in the show's reboot. They're calling her Baby Berry.
However, this explanation didn't really seem to make things any better, as many appeared to experience a childhood ruined moment when they realized that they were now old enough to witness the ushering in of a new sun baby.
Caithlin Pena is an editor for YourTango who enjoys books, movies, and writes about astrology and lifestyle topics.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in June 2015 and was updated with the latest information.