So that's the aim, but I want to make a The 30-year-old Love Island host and presenter-elect of The Masked Singer (she takes over from Rita Ora as a judge on the next series, which starts next month) has come a long way in the past 15 years. Born in Bristol, Jama's story is one of huge resilience. Her father had been in and out of prison for a series of violent offences and she cut ties with him altogether when she was 12. And she had only been in London a short time when her boyfriend Rico Gordon was shot dead, caught in the crossfire of a gang shoot-out in Bristol. Jama had been on the phone to him when he was hit by a ricocheting bullet. Her reaction? "I decided to stay in London and try to make it work." Jama has since become one of the UK's biggest stars, which is why The London Standard named her one of the Top 100 people shaping the capital, alongside Bukayo Saka, Louis Theroux and Dame Tracey Emin.
"By the time I was 16, twice my nightmares had already come true," she says sombrely. "When the worst thing you can imagine has already happened, there are two options: you go home sad or you say, 'I'm still here, I can get through.' And that has been the juice that fuels me." It has also powered Jama on to recently buy her first London house. Not everything has gone smoothly, however, and she did break up with Stormzy for the second time in July- to the great upset of the internet, which was unusually full of people gunning for the couple. There is no new man on the scene but the stakes are high, particularly after her recent birthday.
Denne historien er fra November 21, 2024-utgaven av The London Standard.
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Denne historien er fra November 21, 2024-utgaven av The London Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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