PALMETTO BAY, Fla. — People gawked every time teenage Jillian Anne Ellis opened her mouth. Her thick British accent was hard to understand. Even simply stating her name became a chore.
“Huh? Julian?” They’d say. She started going by Jill.
Before moving to the United States in July 1981, Ellis was more outgoing. She soon became painfully shy. She wouldn’t speak very much and let friends order for her at restaurants to avoid the, “I’m sorry, what?”
Ellis is still an introvert now at 53 years old, but her life is a far departure from that withdrawn younger self she remembers.