London United Kingdom Maya Jama — things you didn’t know about the ‘Walk The Line’ host 4 min read 7 months ago mtv somali Everything you need to know about Maya Jama, the presenter and model at the helm of Simon Cowell’s new talent show. Maya Jama has been a rising star for the past few years, from her Radio 1 show to her hosting duties on Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star and Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer. Meanwhile, her relationship with rap superstar Stormzy saw her become the darling of social media and celebrity gossip mags. Now, she has taken on her biggest role to date, as she hosts Simon Cowell’s spectacular new talent show Walk The Line on ITV, where musical acts battle each other for big money prizes. But what else is there to know about Maya Jama? Here are a few things you might not be aware of. 1. Maya Jama had a tough time at school Brought up by her mum in Bristol, Maya is of Swedish and Somalian heritage. She was bullied at school over her background, so when she moved to secondary school, Maya lied about her heritage — until her family found out. “When mum and my aunties from the Somali side of the family asked me why, I was just like: ‘The boys were saying horrible things about it,’” she explained to inews.co.uk “But after having a proper chat with them I realized it’s something to be proud of. I went back to school all guns blazing like, ‘This is me and this is where I’m from.’” 2. She would love to be a Bond girl! One of Maya’s early ambitions was to pursue an acting career, and she was nearly shot to fame several years ago, after getting down to the final two for a lead role in teen drama Skins. The disappointment put her off acting at the time, but these days she’s ready for a second go. “One day I’d love to be a Bond girl,” she said on BBC1’s All Round To Mrs Browns. “I think that’s a dream most people have.” 3. Maya’s a huge talent show fan! Walk The Line is Maya’s perfect job. As a youngster, she was addicted to The X Factor. Watching with her family, she used to dream of working on the show in some way. Later, when she won her Walk The Line gig, she turned to some of entertainment’s biggest presenters for help. “I’ve never hosted a show like that before so before we started, I was watching loads of videos of Dermot O’Leary handling contestant situations on X Factor and Davina on Big Brother just in case something wild happened!” she told ITV. 4. Maya’s suffered terrible heartbreak Maya was left shattered at the age of 16 when first boyfriend, Rico Gordon, was shot dead in Bristol after being caught in the crossfire between two gangs. Maya was on the phone to him when the fatal shot was fired. “‘I thought that maybe he’d dropped his phone,” she told BBC’s Crimewatch. 5. Stormzy wrote a song about her Maya began dating rapper Stormzy in 2015, and the pair soon became a showbiz supercouple. They split in 2019, and the break-up inspired his song Lessons. Both have admitted that they felt the pressure of playing out their relationship and their break-up in such a public way. “I used to read magazines when I was little and see all these Hollywood people break up and they didn’t feel like real people,” Maya told Capitol Xtra. “And then when you’re in that position you’re like ‘Actually, it’s very real.'” 6. She has people after her blood In 2019, Maya donated blood for an NHS campaign, and discovered she had a rare blood type, which make her one of the most in demand blood donors in the country.“I had no idea,” she told blood.co.uk. “It was great to know that my donation could prove life-changing for somebody.” 7. Maya’s a big Abba fan! She may seem like one of the coolest people on the planet, but the first album Maya bought was the greatest hits of Abba! She’s been a fan since her Swedish grandma played her their songs when she was young. Her favourite is track. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! “It’s a banger. I’d love to hear a revamped version,” she told Vogue. 8. Maya has a passion for fashion Maya has been plastered on billboards, with modelling campaigns for Maybelline, Adidas, and Levi’s. But she has also joined up with Pretty Little Thing for her first highly-successful fashion range in 2018. Maya Jama’s Fact File Frequently asked questions about the star… What is Maya Jama’s full name? Maya was born Maya Indea Jama. How old is Maya Jama? Maya Jama was born on 14 August 1994, making her 27-years-old. Where was Maya Jama born? Maya Jama was born in Bristol, England. Is Maya Jama married? Maya Jama is not currently married. Does Maya Jama have children? No, Maya Jama doesn’t have any children. How tall is Maya Jama? Maya Jama is 5ft 8in tall. Twitter @MayaJama Instagram mayajama Related Tags: Maya Jama MTV Somali Entertainment MTV Somali Fashion Somali Diaspora News Somalis in UK Walk the Line Continue Reading Previous OPINION; ‘The country that bombed you is your friend. 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