The Arab heritage of Jade Thirlwall about which she is proud now!

Updated On March 18, 2024 | Published By: shahid | In Child , Interesting Facts , Lifestyle

“There’s nothing worse than being ordinary.” After failing two times in ‘The X Factor’ and struggling with anorexia nervosa, Jade Thirlwall is now rocking with Little Mix!

Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall has an Arab heritage.
It took her a while to be able to talk about it in public.
But she said that she is proud of it.

She has embraced it well now at the age of 27. The singer was talking to Vogue Arabia about it.

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Jade Thirlwall and her Arab heritage

The singer of Little Mix Jade Thirlwall was recently talking to Vogue Arabia. She said that she has an Arab heritage. She has not spoken about it anytime in the past. But she decided to talk about it now. She said that she is proud of it. And she has embraced it now at the age of 27 years.

She told Vogue Arabia:

“I grew up in an area called Laygate, South Shields in the north-east of England. It’s near the docks where a lot of Arabs worked from the 1920s. My granddad Mohammed arrived around 1943 from Yemen. He worked as a firefighter in the merchant navy, before becoming a laborer at the docks. It was in South Shields that he met my grandma Amelia, whose dad was from Egypt. They were very much in love and settled in the coastal town. They loved the large Arab community, and everyone stuck together. Sadly, my grandma passed away when my mam was just four so I never had a chance to learn much about my Egyptian heritage, but my granddad talked about her a lot.”

The Arab heritage of Jade Thirlwall about which she is proud now! — Jade [Source: Wikipedia]

More about Jade’s ancestors

Jade revealed that her grandfather was a devout Muslim. But he never forced any of his children or grandchildren to follow their religion. But he wanted them to know about his faith.

Further, Jade said:

“We lived near the local mosque and he would tell me beautiful stories about when he went to Mecca. He would always cook for us, too – I loved his chicken soup with khubz, which is the best bread in the world. I remember him fasting for Ramadan, and during Eid, I would wait for him outside the mosque and say Eid Mubarak to his friends as they came out, and they would gift me a pound coin.”

Jade learned to read and write Arabic

Jade’s granddad wanted her to be able to learn the Arabic language. Hence, she used to attend a Muslim School every Saturday from the age of 8 to 10.

And on Sundays, she used to attend Church. But she is not sure of what to follow. Luckily, she had a happy childhood. She attended a multicultural school.

But after her granddad died, she was left alone. The pillar of her support was gone. She faced prejudice and racism at school. She was considered an outcast and went through depression due to it.

Things improved only when at 18, she moved to London.

She said:

“I had suppressed who I was because I wasn’t proud. I had been bullied into thinking I should be ashamed of my identity, so I didn’t talk enough about my heritage in interviews. It makes me sad to think about it now.”
“I regret now that I didn’t talk about it more, but I was young and scared. I’m trying to make up for it now. I’m more open to being that voice for people. I think it comes with being more confident in yourself, and more curious.”

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