Jameela Jamil
TeSi I---
Demographics
Gender Female
Birth Name Jameela Alia Jamil
Birthplace Westminster, London, England, U.K.
Birth Date February 25, 1986
Ethnicity South/Central Asian
Father Punjabi
Mother Pashtun
Nationality British
Career Actress, radio presenter, model, writer, activist
Color Season Dark Autumn
Notes and Motifs
Activist
Body positivity
TeSi I--- Unseelie
TeSi I--- Unseelie
Jamil: "More women need to stick together."
Jamil: "So many people are campaigning, fighting, and even dying to make a statement in the name of humanity. These people have no voice that can be heard by many. I wish more celebrities would take the initiative to be that voice."
Jamil: "Surround yourself with people and things that inspire you. Learn everything you can."
Jamil: "After the cancer-free diagnosis, I thought I'd go off and do the things I never did in my teens and twenties. I realised putting things off in life can be dangerous because suddenly you can find you've run out of time."
Jamil: "I'm not trying to prove myself, and I'm not trying to shock anyone."
Jamil: "If you're in the public eye, you're constantly scrutinised. I was called too thin and then too fat when I was overweight. It's just a shame those are the reactions people have."
Jamil: "One of the brilliant things I realised after I'd left school is that there are so many ways you can learn. I do this best on the job."
Jamil: "When I was a model at 15, I was eating one red pepper a day, and if I had a big day of castings, I would survive off a bag of Haribo, which gave me the 500 calories a day that would keep me alive. I was congratulated daily on my appearance - the more vertebrae upon my back you could count, the better my auditions went."
Jamil: "I find it infuriating that in this industry, size 10 and above is defined as 'plus size,' especially when the average dress size in the U.K. is a 16."
Jamil: "I've always been passionate about the concept of helping the underdog. It just doesn't make sense to me as to what kind of person would take a huge platform and not use it to do something, to change something, to help people."
Jamil: "Hopefully, no one will feel self-conscious in anything that I've designed."
Jamil: "The economy, unemployment, the future... Politicians, economists, and journalists are constantly debating these key issues for our country but rarely come to an answer. But behind all this, there is a fairly simple truth: no matter what anybody says, jobs are hard to come by."
Jamil: "At no point in my thirty years have I ever felt truly represented by the fashion industry."
Jamil: "To those out of work, it may seem unfair for someone to complain that they aren't happy with the type of work they are doing, but the more we like our jobs, the better we do them. In the long run, this doesn't just make us happy - it makes businesses more successful and increases employment even further."
Jamil: "What kind of woman tries to fat-shame a heavily pregnant woman?"
Jamil: "Something I can't stress enough is the massive importance of work experience. It's the only way to find out what work is really like when you're figuring out what path to take and to get an understanding of what it takes to achieve your career ambitions."
Jamil: "Women's bodies have always been used as a spectacle and objectified."
Jamil: "Many weight issues stem from illness, be it physical or, indeed, emotional. And a large portion of people who sometimes struggle to maintain a 'healthy' weight deal daily with their own self-esteem crises."
Jamil: "School was horrific for me, constantly an outcast for being a geek."
Jamil: "Every twist and turn in life is an opportunity to learn something new about yourself, your interests, your talents, and how to set and then achieve goals."
Jamil: "If someone had told me age 14 to start making serious decisions about my career, I'd have laughed!"
Jamil: "Whenever I get negative comments on Twitter, it's always from girls - often ones who are trying to make it in the media. I don't understand why we can't put that energy into uniting and supporting each other instead."
Jamil: "I've been amazingly lucky, and believe me, I don't take anything for granted."
Jamil: "For me, growing up felt like a roller coaster ride at times, but looking back, I don't think that it was such a bad thing. It was all part of the excitement of being young."
Jamil: "With a doughnut in each hand, anything is possible."
Jamil: "With the arrogance of youth, I thought, 'I don't drink, don't smoke, I don't do drugs, so why would I get cancer?' The week I spent waiting for the result of the biopsy to see if it was malignant felt like the longest of my life."
Jamil: "I had to learn to accept myself despite the fact that I was seriously underweight. I had to try and feel sexy."
Jamil: "I get particularly depressed by the way teenagers are portrayed in the media. They are massively underestimated. They are bright, intelligent people who are given less and less opportunity. They are an ignored generation."
Jamil: "Shaming people isn't productive. That makes you feel bad about yourself."