Jameela Jamil

**Jameela Jamil** is an actress, presenter, model, and writer who appears as a judge on the first, second season and third season of the HBO Max series Legendary.

Throughout the show she hosts the balls among Dashaun Wesley.

## Biography

Jamil was born on 25 February 1986 in Hampstead, London, to a Pathan mother and Indian father. She stated in 2015 that she was born with congenital hearing loss and labyrinthitis, which she has had several operations to correct. At the age of nine she was diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and with coeliac disease at age 12.

As a teenager, she suffered from anorexia nervosa and did not eat a full meal between the ages of 14 and 17. She believes her eating disorder developed due to societal pressure, including magazine articles selling weight loss products. She has said that at the age of 17 she was struck by a car while running from a bee, breaking several bones and damaging her spine. She was told that she might never walk again but slowly recovered after steroid treatment and physiotherapy, using a Zimmer frame to start walking. She credits the car accident for pushing her towards recovery from anorexia, saying it changed her relationship with her body. She attended Queen's College School in London but was unable to complete her A-Levels because of her accident. She then taught English to foreign students at the Callan School of English in London for two years, she also worked as a model scout but never as a model, although in 2020 she stated she worked as a model but denied being one in early interviews. She worked as a photographer, scout and model agent.

Jamil stated in an interview that she was working as a teacher when she was discovered by a producer at a bar and asked to audition as a presenter. She then applied to be a presenter via email after seeing a Channel 4 job advertisement. Jamil appeared on Music Zone on E4 towards the end of 2008. She then began presenting at Channel 4's youth slot T4 in 2009. In January 2009 succeeded in the morning TV show Freshle Squeezed her as co-host, alongside Nick Grimshaw. In 2010, Jamil presented The Closet, an online fashion advice show.

From 2011 to 2014 she wrote a column for Company, a women's monthly magazine. In January 2012, Jamil replaced June Sarpong as the host of the reality show Playing It Straight. In June 2012, Jamil collaborated with Very to debut her first fashion collection. At the end of 2012 Jamil became the radio host of The Official Chart, and was co-host of The Official Chart Update alongside Scott Mills on BBC Radio 1. Jamil made radio history, becoming the first sole female presenter of the BBC Radio 1 Chart show.

Jamil left London in 2016 and moved to Los Angeles intending to work as a screenwriter. While working as a writer at 3 Arts, her agents told her that Michael Schur was looking for a British actress for a new upcoming comedy series. Having no prior acting experience at this point, she went for the audition and told the casting director that she had stage acting experience. She was later recalled for a second interview with Mike Schur and all of the producers, in which she claimed to have comedy improv experience. She was eventually given the role. The show premiered in September 2016, with Jamil being a regular cast member of the NBC fantasy comedy series The Good Place, where she played Tahani Al-Jamil. Jamil's character became known for her tendency to name drop.

Jamil made her first American magazine cover on the February 2018 issue of The Cut. She provided her voice as a guest on the animated television series DuckTales. In the same year, Jamil hosted a recurring segment on Last Call with Carson Daly during its final season, entitled "Wide Awake with Jameela Jamil".

In 2018, Jamil joined the cast of Disney's Indian-inspired cartoon set in fictional Jalpur. Mira, Royal Detective debuted in March 2020, with Jamil playing Mira's Auntie Pushpa.

Since 2019, Jamil has been the host of The Misery Index, a comedy game show on TBS.

In March 2020, she posed fully-clothed in suit and tie for Playboy magazine's "On Speech" issue. She later tweeted, *"From my Playboy shoot, I wanted to be shot like a man. No retouching, hi res, loose, comfortable clothes and completely unsexualized. I felt extremely free"*.

In April 2020, she debuted her podcast I Weigh with Jameela Jamil, which focuses on women's accomplishments, body positivity, activism and racial inclusivity. In October 2020, the podcast was nominated for an E! People's Choice Award.

### Legendary

During the announcements of Legendary, she had to came out as queer, after a false appointment of her as the MC Chanter of the show received backlash.

## Legendary Looks

### Season 2

Promo LookIndividual Promo LookGrand March Part 1 LookGrand March Part 2 LookTinseltown Look