Battling Invisible Illness to Battling She-Hulk: Jameela Jamil

Easily breaking bones and having to do “death math” to judge if an activity is safe enough for you on a daily basis creates countless challenges. But that is what living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) requires. To overcome those enormous hurdles, and now star as a supervillain in the brand new Marvel television series ‘She-Hulk: Attorney At Law’ on Disney+, is nothing short of incredible. HBH is excited to welcome actress, activist, writer and comedian, Jameela Jamil.

EDS can be incredibly dangerous. A degenerative disorder, it causes those living with it to experience a shortage of collagen that affects connective tissues, which support vital functions of the body including skin, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, internal organs and bones. Unfortunately, while treatments can help manage symptoms, there is no cure. Jameela is also a survivor of anorexia. While many are familiar with the eating disorder, most people do not realize that it has the highest cause of death for any mental illness.

Through all of these challenges, Jameela’s career has soared. As an actress, despite EDS, she was able to do a number of her own stunts playing the supervillain ‘Titania’ on She-Hulk. As an activist, she is a leading critic of diet culture and body image marketing, particularly on social media - and is currently campaigning to introduce two bills to the United States Senate to combat these destructive influences in society.

Jameela’s spirit is both inspiring and hilarious and we thank her for sharing her incredible story with us.