Jewel recalls homelessness and life-threatening illness in early struggles
The singer says she was turned away from a hospital due to lack of insurance
Jewel opened up about a traumatic chapter from her early life, revealing that she was once homeless and nearly died after being turned away from a hospital due to a lack of insurance.
In a resurfaced 2023 interview on the PBS program Brief But Spectacular, the Grammy-nominated folk artist shared that she experienced a life-threatening medical emergency while living without stable housing in her younger years.
“I almost died in an emergency room parking lot because they didn’t see me because I didn’t have insurance,” said Jewel, who was born Jewel Kilcher.
She explained that she had been suffering from a serious, undiagnosed infection when a doctor who witnessed her being turned away intervened.
According to Jewel, the physician approached her directly, provided antibiotics, and left his contact information — an act she credits with saving her life.
“Luckily, a doctor had seen me get turned away… he went out and he knocked on my door and he handed me antibiotics and his card,” she said. “And he saved my life. It turned out I had sepsis.”
Jewel described the experience as one of the most defining moments of her life, calling it a turning point that reshaped her perspective and future.
“This was just the most transformative time in my life,” she said.
The singer has long spoken publicly about her difficult upbringing in Alaska, including her strained relationship with her father and periods of instability after leaving home as a teenager.
In earlier interviews, she revealed she began living independently at a young age and faced homelessness after leaving an unsafe work situation where she was not paid.
Jewel has also previously discussed her father’s struggles with PTSD following military service, as well as their eventual reconciliation later in life after years of separation.
Despite her early hardships, the artist went on to become one of the defining voices of the 1990s folk and pop music scene, building a successful career marked by chart-topping hits and personal storytelling.