Jazz Jennings (born October 6, 2000)[1] is an AmericanYouTube personality,spokesmodel,television personality, andLGBT rights activist.[2][3] Jennings is one of the youngest publicly documented people to be identified astransgender.[3] Jennings received national attention in 2007 when an interview withBarbara Walters aired on20/20, which led to other high-profile interviews and appearances. Christine Connelly, a member of the board of directors for theBoston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth, stated, "She was the first young person who picked up the national spotlight, went on TV and was able to articulate her perspective and point of view with such innocence."[3] Her parents noted that Jennings was clear on being female as soon as she could speak.[4][5]
Jennings is an honorary co-founder of the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation, which her parents founded in 2007 to assist transgender youth. In 2013, she founded Purple Rainbow Tails, a company in which she fashions rubber mermaid tails to raise money for transgender children.[6] Jennings hosts a series of YouTube videos about her life, titled "I Am Jazz".[3][7] She stars in theTLC reality TV series,I Am Jazz, which premiered in 2015 and focuses on her daily life with her family and the challenges she faces as a transgender person.[3][8]
Early life and education
Jennings was born on October 6, 2000, at St. Mary's Medical Center inWest Palm Beach, Florida to Gregory and Jeanette.[9][4][5] The youngest of four children, Jennings has an older sister named Arial and two older brothers named Sander and Griffen, who are twins.[10] Her parents are Jewish and her father is an estate attorney.[11][12][13]
Jennings wasassigned male at birth.[14] She began identifying as a girl when she was two years old, her mother Jeanette saying she "liked everything sparkly and pink" and describing her as "so feminine."[15][4] At four years old, she became one of the youngest individuals to have been diagnosed withgender dysphoria, and, at five years old, shecame out to her friends and family at her fifth birthday party.[16][17] When she was six years old, Jennings came out as transgender on national television in a 2007 interview with journalistBarbara Walters on20/20.[18][19] To protect the family's privacy, they used the surname Jennings.[20] Though her family was accepting and she was able to connect with other transgender youth through events and organizations likeCamp Aranu'tiq, her transition wasn't always met with support from the public.[21] In elementary school, she was barred from joining the girls' soccer team and wasbullied.[22][23]
At age 11, Jennings began tomedically transition by takingpuberty blockers to delay hersexual development and by 14, she had begunfeminizing hormone therapy.[24][25][17] While crediting puberty blockers with saving her life, Jennings said she struggled socially in high school, particularly romantically, because of being transgender.[26] In early 2018, Jennings lost 30 pounds in preparation forgender-affirming surgery. She underwent surgery in June, at 17.[27] Dr. Jess Ting said operation was unique and difficult because it was necessary to remove tissue from her lower pelvic region and upper thighs, a procedure that had only been documented in medical literature about 50 times.[28] Jennings suffered post-surgical complications and underwent another surgery to correct them in October.[29]
Jennings with trans activist and authorAbby Stein at the 2016 Philadelphia Trans Health Conference. They were both named as one of the "9 Jewish LGBTQ Activists You Should Know" byJTA andTOI.
At six years old, Jennings and her family began appearing on television to speak about the challenges of growing up transgender.[36] Her story has been covered by national television shows20/20[7][36] andThe Rosie Show,[37] where she appeared alongsideChaz Bono.
In 2007, Jennings's parents founded TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation to assist transgender youth; she is an honorary co-founder of the organization.[38][39]
In 2011,I Am Jazz: A Family in Transition, a documentary about her life and family, premiered on theOprah Winfrey Network.[40]
In 2013, Jennings founded Purple Rainbow Tails, a company in which she fashions rubber mermaid tails to raise money for transgender children.[38][39] That same year, in a follow-up interview with Barbara Walters on20/20, they discussed Jennings's two-and-a-half-year battle with theUnited States Soccer Federation (USSF), the governing US body for the sport, to allow her to play on girls' teams. Aided by theNational Center for Lesbian Rights, she succeeded in changing the USSF's policies to allow trans students to play.[41]
Jennings co-wrote the 2014 children's book,I Am Jazz, with Jessica Herthel, the director of the Stonewall National Education Project.[42] The book details her life as a transgender child.[2][43][44] According tolibertarian magazineReason, "I Am Jazz is one of the most banned books in the [United States]".[45]
In 2014, Jennings was a guest at theGLAAD Media Awards, sharing the stage withZach Wahls and Lauren Foster.[46] That year she was also named one of "The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014" byTime, and recognized as the youngest person ever featured onOut's "Out 100" andAdvocate's "40 Under 40" lists.[47] She was also named inOUT's 2014 Trans 100 list,[48] named aHuman Rights Campaign Youth Ambassador, and receivedLogoTV's 2014 Youth Trailblazer Award.[48] In March 2015,Johnson & Johnson announced a deal for Jennings to appear inClean & Clear commercials.[49] Jennings became a spokesmodel forClean & Clear's "See The Real Me" digital campaign and shared "the trials of growing up transgender." She also modeled for theNOH8 Campaign.[3] She also authored a piece forTime magazine's100 Most Influential People List, writing the entry forLaverne Cox.[50]
The day-to-day life of Jennings and her family is documented in theTLC reality seriesI Am Jazz, which debuted in July 2015.[49][51] The seventh season premiered on November 30, 2021.[52] In 2016, Jennings published a memoir,Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen.[53]
In 2017,Robert Tonner and theTonner Doll Company announced plans to produce a doll modeled after Jennings.[54] It was to be the first doll to be marketed as transgender.[55] The same year, Jennings voiced a teenage transgender character, Zadie, in the season finale of theAmazon Video animated seriesDanger & Eggs, who sings about acceptance, helping the two protagonists understand the meaning of a chosen family.[56][57][58][59] Jennings described the experience as "groundbreaking," saying she was proud to be part of the show, especially in an episode that takes place at "a Pride event," saying it makes the role significant, meaningful, powerful, and special.[60] In 2018, it was announced Jennings would star in a short film calledDenim.[61] It would focus on a transgender teen named Micayla and the events following the viral release of a photo of her in the girls' bathroom taken by a former friend. It was released toAmazon Prime Video on July 20, 2019.[62] In 2019, Jennings made a guest appearance on the fifteenth season of the ABC program,What Would You Do? Jennings voiced the character Lily the Fairy in the 2019 episode "Cedric & the Fairies" ofThe Bravest Knight, an animated series.[63]
Personal life
In 2012, Jennings discussed her sexual orientation with Barbara Walters during her20/20 interview, saying she was romantically attracted to boys and that she harbored some apprehension about dating because of her transgender identity. In a Q&A video on her YouTube channel in July 2014, Jennings said that she waspansexual, and that she loved people "for their personality", regardless of their sexual orientation and gender.[64] In 2013, Jennings publicly discussed her wish to become a mother in the future.[65][66]
Medical complications
In an interview published in the April 11, 2018, issue ofPeople, Jennings said that, per her surgeons' instructions, she had lost at least 30 pounds (14 kg) in order to havegender confirmation surgery, which was scheduled for June 20, 2018.[67] The surgery was successful,[68] but was followed by complications that required another procedure.[69] The surgery was performed by Dr. Jess Ting and Dr.Marci Bowers.[70]
Jennings has said she struggles with mental illness and weight gain.[71] In an Instagram post, Jennings said she hasbinge eating disorder.[72] After her acceptance to Harvard, Jennings began tobinge eat, gaining nearly 100 pounds, which caused her to delay her entry into college. She has said that her family hasfat shamed her.[73] In June 2025, Jennings revealed she had lost 100 pounds over two years.[74][75]
^Fernandez, Alexia (April 11, 2018)."Jazz Jennings on track for gender confirmation surgery".People.The star of I Am Jazz opened up to PEOPLE about her recent weight loss, which was required for her surgery in June, while at the Rising Stars Luncheon at the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards on Wednesday in Beverly Hills, California.
.jpg)
.jpg)
