Jameela Jamil

Biography

Jamil was born in Hampstead to an Indian father and Pakistani mother. At school, Jamil says she was "bookish and shy [...] Back then it was all about comfort. I literally didn't care what I wore". Her interests include art and biology. At the age of 17, Jamil was struck by a car, breaking several bones and damaging her spine. She was confined to bed for a year; she weighed 126 pounds (57 kg) (9 st) before the accident and gained 77 pounds (35 kg) (5 st 7 lb) while convalescing. She was told that she might never walk again, but after steroid treatment and physiotherapy she slowly recovered, using a Zimmer frame to start walking. She rapidly lost weight, returning to her original weight.

Jamil taught English to foreign students at the Callan School of English, Oxford Street, London; she also worked as a model, photographer, and as a fashion scout for Premier Model Management Limited. Of her political views, she stated "It's not a matter of who's got the better policies – it's literally a case of thinking 'Who's less evil?'" and prior to the 2010 general election said "I'm so confused as to who's actually worse. And I just don't think there's much of a point voting for the Lib Dems."

In February 2012, it was announced that she would host the Radio 1 Request Show broadcasting every Sunday from 7-9pm. On 9 November 2012, it was announced that she would take control of The Radio 1 Chart Show, after it was announced Reggie Yates would be leaving. She hosted her first chart show on 13 January 2013. In June 2012, Jamil collaborated with Very.co.uk to debut her first fashion collection. In 2016 Jamil made her acting debut, portraying socialite Tahani al-Jamil on the NBC fantasy sitcom "The Good Place".

Fashion

When younger, Jamil wore extra-large men's Gap tracksuits. Jamil denies that the world of modelling made her stylish, saying "that doesn't mean you have style ... you are just getting clothes put on to you", but by 2010, she was reported as a "rising star in the fashion world, carving out her own niche in feminine grunge glam outfits". She does not have a stylist, choosing her own clothes from fashion designers including Olivia Rubin, D&G, Henry Holland, Urban Outfitters, Office and high-street brand Topshop. Her style has been described as "unique looks that both reflect and inspire the UK's young, fresh fashionistas". She is fond of 1950s and 60s vintage dresses, styled after icons Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot.

Jamil has attended events such as London Fashion Week 2010 (on 18 October 2009), the opening of Whiteley's Pop Up stores in March 2010 and the first shop for the Danish fashion house By Malene Birger (where Jamil was DJing).

Magazines

Jamil has featured in several magazines. She was photographed for a Vogue feature on "British Editorial Class of 2010" in January of that year, by David Bailey. In the British edition of Esquire an editorial titled "How To Impress Jameela Jamil" appeared in October 2009, written by Alisa Connan. InStyle Magazine had a shoot in 2010. She also writes a column for Company, the women's monthly magazine.

Television

While teaching English, Jamil saw an advertisement for a job with Channel 4 and sent an application; she later said "I couldn't believe it when I got a screen test and then got the job!" She appeared on the E4 show Music Zone towards the end of 2008. She began presenting T4 in 2009. In January 2009, Alexa Chung left the morning TV show Freshly Squeezed; Jamil succeeded Chung as co-host, alongside Nick Grimshaw.

Jamil presented other E4 Music programmes, interviewing celebrities such as Denzel Washington, Jennifer Aniston and Johnny Depp. She presented "T4 on the Beach 2009", and "T4 on the Beach 2010", which was on 19 July in Weston-Super-Mare. In November 2009, she hosted the Freesports on 4 coverage of the Freeze Festival, a snow and music festival held in Battersea Power Station. She presented Channel 4 Saturday morning show Koko Pop (filmed at Camden's Koko nightclub), which debuted on show of 10 April 2010 featuring "the hottest pop acts in the UK charts". The series' six half-hour shows were repeated on T4.

Jamil presented "The Closet", an online fashion advice show on the social networking site Bebo. Created and produced by Twenty Twenty Television, it formed part of the 'Bebo Originals' commission programme. The weekly shows began on 25 August 2009, running for just over four months, featuring fashion and makeup guides, insider interviews and celebrity gossip. Site visitors could participate in the show via the site, uploading photos of their 'best buys' of the week and voting in polls. In January 2012, replaced June Sarpong as the new host of Playing It Straight.

Since September 2016, Jamil has been a regular cast member of the NBC fantasy sitcom The Good Place, where she plays Tahani Al-Jamil, a deceased British Pakistani socialite.

Charity

Jamil appeared on C4 "Orange Rockcorps 2009", volunteering for four hours to help create a concert to fund local community projects. She has supported the Cultural Learning Alliance, which promotes access to culture for children and young people, and Vinspired National Awards for people aged 16–25 who have contributed to their communities through volunteering. Jamil designed her own version of SpongeBob SquarePants, for a Childline charity auction.

Jamil also said that she would wear a chicken costume for the same number of days equal to the number of thousands of pounds she raises for Comic Relief. She was sponsored approximately £16,000 so vowed to wear the costume for 16 consecutive days.