Bookshelfie: Jameela Jamil

Actor, presenter and advocate Jameela Jamil tells Zawe why we need to own the narrative around women’s bodies.

Jameela started out on T4 in 2009, before becoming the first solo female presenter of the Radio 1 Chart show. But it was her move to the States in 2016 which really propelled her into the international spotlight. Taking on acting for the first time, she landed a role in the NBC series The Good Place, she’s appeared in numerous films and TV shows and has recently been cast by Marvel. All the while being an honest, raw and outspoken voice on social media. She’s not afraid to call out the beauty, fashion or media industries for their unrealistic expectations of women, she’s publicly criticised various celebrities for the impact their words and actions can have on their fans, she’s campaigned to get social media platforms to better protect teenagers and her instagram feed and podcast I Weigh have become a movement to encourage everyone to feel good about their bodies. 

Jameela’s book choices are: 

** Hunger: A Memoir of my Body  by Roxanne Gay

** Period Power by Maisie Hill

** The Transgender Issue by Shon Faye

** The Vagina Bible by Dr Jennifer Gunter

** Everything’s Trash but it’s OK by Phoebe Robinson

Zawe Ashton, acclaimed actress, director, playwright and author, hosts Season Four of the chart-topping Women’s Prize for Fiction Podcast. The new Women’s Prize Podcast season continues to celebrate the best fiction written by women, by interviewing inspirational women about the books that have most influenced their life and career.

Make sure you listen and subscribe now, you definitely don’t want to miss the rest of Season Four.

This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

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