9-year-old actress heading home for Jamaica 60

Child actress and singer Jazmin Headley is heading to the island for Jamaica 60, to explore her roots and learn about her culture. 

She is only nine years old, but she has already completed shooting a lead role for an upcoming MGM movie to be released in 2023. She is a part of the cast of a nationally syndicated TV show for children in Canada called Ukulele U, which airs on CBC on Saturday mornings.

She is passionate about dancing and singing, and is releasing her first EP in a few weeks.

If that's not enough, the precocious fourth grader also finds time to raise thousands of dollars for charities that are distributed in Canada and Jamaica.  

Jazmin and her family will spend a week exploring the island, visiting family, attending a number of engagements and making a guest appearance at the Jamaica Poetry Festival in Kingston.  

Although she was born in Canada, both her parents are Jamaicans and even at a young age, she is intensely passionate about her Jamaican heritage, and wants to celebrate it. 

"I am very excited about visiting Jamaica right now when there is so much going on in my world," Jazmin told The Gleaner. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I am looking forward to getting a sense of what Jamaica is really like outside of the resort experience," she added.

As an aspiring songwriter, Jazmin wrote her first song as a tribute to George Floyd after his death.

For her ninth birthday, the young philanthropist organised a fundraiser in Toronto and was able to secure eight wheelchairs, walkers, canes and nine barrels of clothing that were shipped to Jamaica. And through her line of t-shirts, she has made cash donations to sick children in Toronto hospitals. 

Despite her hectic schedule, there is one thing that remains a top priority for her on this Jamaica visit, and that's meeting her hero.

"We kids all have heroes. My superhero is Bounty Killer and I am thrilled to be meeting him, because we share the same goals and dreams for making this world a better place," she revealed, excitedly. 

-Dave Rodney

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