Jameela Alia Burton-Jamil is a British actress, radio presenter and activist. Jamil began her career as an English teacher before becoming a presenter on T4 from 2009 until 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 was the first solo female presenter of the BBC Radio 1 Chart show. Take a look below for 25 more fascinating and interesting facts about Jameela Jamil.

1. Jamil was born in London to an Indian father and a Pakistani mother on February 25, 1986.

2. She was not raised in any religion, and remains irreligious.

3. Jamil was born with congenital hearing loss and labyrinthitis, which she had to have several operations to correct.

4. She states that she has “70% audibility in my left ear and 50% in my right ear” as of 2015.

5. At school, Jamil says she was “bookish and shy”.

6. At age 9, Jamil was diagnosed with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

7. As a teenager, she suffered from anorexia nervosa, not eating a full meal between the ages of 14 and 17.

8. At the age of 17, Jamil was struck by a car while fleeing a bee, breaking several bones and damaging her spine.

9. 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.

10. She cites the car accident as what pushed her towards recovery in that it “changed my relationship with my body” and “figuratively knocked some sense into me”.

11. 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.

12. She was one of fifteen women selected to appear on the cover of the September 2019 issue of British Vogue “Forces for Change”, by guest editor Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

13. On August 2, 2019, Jamil was awarded “Advocate of the Year” from the Ehlers-Danlos society.

14. Jamil has been in a relationship with musician James Blake since 2015.

15. In May 2019, Jamil shared that she had an abortion earlier in her life. She stated, “It was the best decision I have ever made. Both for me, and for the baby I didn’t want, and wasn’t ready for, emotionally, psychologically and financially.”

16. Jamil appeared on C4 “Orange Rockcorps 2009”, volunteering for four hours to help create a concert to fund local community projects.

17. 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.

18. Jamil designed her own version of SpongeBob SquarePants, for a Childline charity auction.

19. 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.

20. In June 2012, Jamil collaborated with Very to debut her first fashion collection.

21. In 2019, Jamil auditioned for the host position of Misery Index, a show on Tru TV, alongside the Impractical Jokers.

22. Jamil made her first American magazine cover on the February 2018 edition of The Cut.

23. She provided her voice as a guest on the animated television series DuckTales.

24. In 2018, Jamil joined the cast of Disney’s Indian-inspired cartoon set in fictional Jalpur. Mira, Royal Detective is expected to air on Disney Junior channels in 2020, with Jamil playing Mira’s Auntie Pushpa.

25. In 2018, Jamil hosted a recurring segment on Last Call with Carson Daly during its final season, entitled “Wide Awake with Jameela Jamil”.