Harris began her interior design career while working at Caban, an interior goods store, which inspired her to begin giving design consultations. She was then hired by Scott Morison, the co-founder of the Canadian restaurant chain Cactus Club Cafe, to design his restaurants. She formalized her interior credentials with a 2006 certificate in interior design from The British Columbia Institute of Technology. She was then re-hired by Morison as the designer for Browns Socialhouse, his new chain of restaurants.[4][5]
In early 2009, Harris was a contestant on the 13th season of the American TV show The Bachelor, where she competed against 24 other women to win the heart of Jason Mesnick and finished as second-runner-up. In mid 2009, she was selected to be the star of the 5th seasonofThe Bachelorette, making history as the franchise's first Canadian star.[1][6] She chose Ed Swiderski as the winner of her season, and the two became engaged but later broke up in 2010.[7]
Between 2013 and 2019, Harris appeared on the Canadian TV series Love It or List It Vancouver, which aired on the W Network in Canada and on HGTV in the United States as Love It or List It Too. She was the show's designer, and competed against real estate agent Todd Talbot by redesigning a family's existing home in hopes that they would decide to stay in the home rather than choose to sell it.[12][13]
In 2016, she made a cameo appearance on the first season of The Bachelorette Canada, counselling Bachelorette Jasmine Lorimer.[14] Harris and her boyfriend Justin Pasutto, a former professional snowboarder, starred in their own four-episode documentary series, Jillian and Justin, which aired on W Network in Canada in June 2017.[15]
Harris ran her own brand of interior decor goods, and in 2013, she launched her e-vintage webstore, Charlie Ford Vintage.[16] She has collaborated with brands including Smash + Tess, Joe Fresh, and Canadian Tire to create fashion collections.[17][18] She has a subscription box, Jilly Box, and an online course titled Jilly Academy.[18] Harris published a plant-based cookbook titled Fraiche Food Full Hearts (Penguin Random House Canada, 2019) with her cousin, Tori Wesszer.[19][20]
She lives in Kelowna, British Columbia.[2] Harris and Pasutto got engaged in December 2016.[21] The couple have two children: Leo George and Annie.[22] In June 2018, Passutto, Harris, and Wesszer appeared in the music video for Aaron Pritchett's "Worth a Shot".[23]
