Jameela Jamil
Encyclopedia
Jameela Jamil is an English television presenter and model. She has appeared on various Channel 4
programmes, and has been a presenter of T4
since 2009.
. 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 damaging her spine. Jamil was confined to bed for a year; she weighed 126 pounds (57.2 kg) before the accident and gained 77 pounds (34.9 kg) while convalescing. She was told that she may 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 – including a nun and monk – at the Callan School of English, Oxford Street, London; she also worked as a model, a photographer, and as a fashion scout for Premier Model Management Limited.
Of her political views, Jamil has said that "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."
Jamil is represented by Money Management as of 2010, a management group that has represented people such as Edith Bowman
, Abigail Clancy
, Donna Air
and co-presenter Nick Grimshaw
(with whom she presented Freshly Squeezed
).
Jamil 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). At the premiere of Brüno
, she tripped on the red carpet
.
feature on "British Editorial Class of 2010" in January of that year, by David Bailey. In the UK edition of Esquire
an editorial entitled "How To Impress Jameela Jamil" appeared in October 2009, written by Alisa Connan. InStyle Magazine had a Shoot
in 2010.
Jamil has written a column for Company
, the women's monthly magazine.
In January 2009, Alexa Chung
left the morning TV show Freshly Squeezed
, and Jamil took over as the co-host along with Nick Grimshaw.
Jamil has 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, Jamil hosted the Freesports on 4 coverage of the Freeze Festival, a snow and music festival held in Battersea Power Station.
Jamil presented Channel 4 Saturday morning show Koko Pop (filmed at Camden's Koko nightclub), which debuted on 10 April 2010 showing "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.
Jamil was a member of the inaugural Nokia
X6 All Areas entertainment reporter judging panel.
character SpongeBob SquarePants
, for a Childline charity auction.
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
programmes, and has been a presenter of T4
T4 (Channel 4)
T4 is a scheduling slot on Channel 4 from about 09:00 until 14:00 on Saturdays and 17:00 on Sundays. It also airs on weekdays in the school holidays. The slot has a separate station identification on screen graphic from Channel 4 and E4. The logo of T4 is noticeably the top right segment of the...
since 2009.
Biography
Jamil, nickname "Jam-Jam", was born in Hampstead HeathHampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath is a large, ancient London park, covering . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London clay...
. 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 damaging her spine. Jamil was confined to bed for a year; she weighed 126 pounds (57.2 kg) before the accident and gained 77 pounds (34.9 kg) while convalescing. She was told that she may 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 – including a nun and monk – at the Callan School of English, Oxford Street, London; she also worked as a model, a photographer, and as a fashion scout for Premier Model Management Limited.
Of her political views, Jamil has said that "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."
Jamil is represented by Money Management as of 2010, a management group that has represented people such as Edith Bowman
Edith Bowman
Edith Eleanor Bowman is a Scottish music critic, radio DJ and television presenter. She is mostly known for hosting the weekday afternoon show and from September 2009 weekend morning on BBC Radio 1 and for presenting a variety of music related television shows and music...
, Abigail Clancy
Abigail Clancy
Abigail Marie "Abbey" Crouch is a British lingerie and catwalk model and television presenter.-Early life:...
, Donna Air
Donna Air
Donna Air is an English television presenter, singer and actress.-Early life:As a former student of Gosforth High School, Donna attended the Drama School at First Act in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, where she was a pupil alongside Jill Halfpenny, Ant & Dec and Dale Meeks.-Television:She became...
and co-presenter Nick Grimshaw
Nick Grimshaw
Nicholas Peter "Nick" Grimshaw is a British television and radio presenter. Commonly known as 'Grimmy', he has presented shows for Channel 4, E4, BBC One, BBC Two and Channel 4 youth strand T4...
(with whom she presented Freshly Squeezed
Freshly Squeezed
Freshly Squeezed is a British television programme broadcast every weekday morning around 07:00 on Channel 4.-Format:The programme takes the format of a music-based breakfast show, featuring studio performances, music videos and interviews.-Current:...
).
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".Jamil 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
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
and Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a French former fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex-symbols of the 1960s.In her early life, Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer...
.
Jamil has attended events such as London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week is an apparel trade show held in London, England twice each year, in February and September. It is one of the "Big Four" fashion weeks, along with New York Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week.-Organization:...
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
Malene Birger
Malene Birger is a Danish fashion designer. MTV Europe has crowned her the "Queen of Fashion in Copenhagen", and international trend magazine Wear Global has nominated her boutique in Copenhagen as one of the world's finest in terms of design and decor....
(where Jamil was DJing). At the premiere of Brüno
Brüno (film)
Brüno is a 2009 British mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and starred as the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno...
, she tripped on the red carpet
Red carpet
A red carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by VIPs and celebrities at formal events.- History :...
.
Magazines
Jamil has featured in several magazines. She was photographed for a VogueVogue (British magazine)
The British edition of Vogue is a fashion magazine that has been published since 1916.When British Vogue was launched, it was the first overseas edition of an existing fashion magazine. Under the magazine's first editor, Elspeth Champcommunal, the magazine was essentially the same as the American...
feature on "British Editorial Class of 2010" in January of that year, by David Bailey. In the UK edition of Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
an editorial entitled "How To Impress Jameela Jamil" appeared in October 2009, written by Alisa Connan. InStyle Magazine had a Shoot
Photo shoot
A photo shoot is generally used in the fashion industry, whereby a model poses for a photographer at a studio where multiple photos are taken to find the best ones for the required brief...
in 2010.
Jamil has written a column for Company
Company (magazine)
Company magazine is a monthly fashion, celebrity and lifestyle magazine published in the United Kingdom.It celebrated its 30th birthday in 2008, and in that time has had only six editors: Maggie Goodman, Gil Hudson, Mandi Norwood, Fiona Macintosh, Sam Baker, and the current editor - Victoria...
, the women's monthly magazine.
Television career
When 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!" Jamil appeared on the E4 show Music Zone towards the end of 2008. She began presenting T4 in 2009.In January 2009, Alexa Chung
Alexa Chung
Alexa Chung is an English television presenter, model and contributing editor at British Vogue.She currently hosts Gonzo with Alexa Chung for MTV UK, and is scheduled to host Thrift America for PBS in 2011...
left the morning TV show Freshly Squeezed
Freshly Squeezed
Freshly Squeezed is a British television programme broadcast every weekday morning around 07:00 on Channel 4.-Format:The programme takes the format of a music-based breakfast show, featuring studio performances, music videos and interviews.-Current:...
, and Jamil took over as the co-host along with Nick Grimshaw.
Jamil has presented other E4 Music programmes, interviewing celebrities such as Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
, Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
, and Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
. She presented "T4 on the Beach 2009", and "T4 on the Beach 2010", which was on 19 July in Weston-Super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
.
In November 2009, Jamil hosted the Freesports on 4 coverage of the Freeze Festival, a snow and music festival held in Battersea Power Station.
Jamil presented Channel 4 Saturday morning show Koko Pop (filmed at Camden's Koko nightclub), which debuted on 10 April 2010 showing "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
Bebo
Bebo is a social networking website launched in July 2005. It is currently owned and operated by Criterion Capital Partners after taking over from AOL in June 2010....
. Created and produced by Twenty Twenty Television
Twenty Twenty
Twenty Twenty is a British independent television production company which joined the Shed Media Group in September 2007. The company produces documentaries, current affairs, drama, living history, and children's television.-Current productions:...
, 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.
Jamil was a member of the inaugural Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
X6 All Areas entertainment reporter judging panel.
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 contributed to their communities through volunteering. Jamil designed her own version of NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
character SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
, for a Childline charity auction.