[1] Stanness's first experience of acting was at the age of 15, playing the role of Sheila in An Inspector Calls while part of the Wardens drama group.
[2] Stanness's first appearance on television was in 2000 in the series Human Remains as a Wedding Shop Manager (under the name: Jane Roth).
In 2012 she starred as Sheena the Punk Rocker in the film A Fantastic Fear of Everything ; the same year she appeared as Biddy Ritherfoot in the television series Hunderby.
[5] The same year she starred as Matron in the film Slaughterhouse Rulez alongside Asa Butterfield and Simon Pegg.
[6] In 2020, Stanness played a lead role in the television series Intelligence alongside David Schwimmer and Nick Mohammed.