Long before Caitlyn Jenner came out as transgender in 2015 a much younger Jazz Jennings was fighting for acceptance, tolerance and freedom. She is considered as the youngest person in history to represent the LGBTQ community.
She became famous after being on 20/20, a famous show starring Barbara Walters. Jazz spoke boldly and directly about problems that LGBTQ youth faces every day.
She is one of the first if not the first teenage activist fighting for LGBTQ community.
The 7 year old Jennings bravely spoke about subjects troubling her and troubling her transgender peers. This kind of honesty immediately won over the hearts of the whole nation, and Jazz soon became a public figure beloved by many.
After the interview Jazz became more and more involved with problems of LGBTQ youth in America and worldwide. She has been supported by her parents throughout this liberating journey, and she quickly became a role model for many.
Jazz opened the doors of liberation and tolerance for many that came after her.
Besides being a public spokesperson Jazz also starred in TLC’s show I Am Jazz, a reality show about her life and her family and the daily struggles of a transgender teenager.
Early life:
Jazz Jennings was born on October the 6th in the year of 2000. Her parents are Greg and Jeanette Jennings. Since Jazz became a public persona they decided, for the sake of other family members’ privacy to hide their real last name and take on a pseudonym “Jennings”.
In a couple of interviews they proudly spoke about their family’s Jewish heritage describing their last name as “very Jewish” and “very long”.
Jazz was born into a big and loving family. She is the youngest of four children.
Jazz grew up in South Florida, spending her early childhood with her older brothers Sander and Griffen, and her sister Ari.
As soon as her speaking skills developed, Jazz started identifying herself as a female contrary to the fact she was born as a boy. Her parents were understanding and supportive from the very beginning not just to Jazz but to all of their children. At 5 she received a diagnosis of gender identity disorder hence becoming the youngest transgender person in documented history.
This kind of situation brought her family even closer, made their love for each other stronger, and they decided to give Jazz all the support she needed to face the obstacles put before her by the society.
Career development:
Jazz’s family faced the challenge of her situation heads on, deciding to not only support her in fighting the obstacles of growing up transgender, but to inspire other families and kids that could be facing the similar challenges.
They appeared on very popular nation-wide TV shows such as 20/20, The Rosie show and many more. They shared their insight and personal experience that they considered important. The story of Jazz Jennings, America’s youngest transgender person soon went viral and made Jazz and her family famous. She became one of the youngest LGBTQ icons in history and the hero of many of her peers facing similar issues.
Jazz and her family were quickly becoming more and more famous, and decided to use their fame to spread positivity, optimism, tolerance and love.
They became involved with many charity foundations, and in 2007 became founders of TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation, a foundation that has a goal of helping transgender kids in need.
Continuing to speak about the rights of transgender youth, Jazz and her family starred in a documentary on Oprah Winfrey Network reaching out to different audiences. The show received very positive feedback.
Her most impressive achievement is definitely winning the battle with United States Soccer Federation and making them change their policies to allowing transgender students to participate in playing soccer.
In 2013 I Am Jazz, a book in which Jazz shares her experiences as a transgender child was published. The book was welcomed by her fans and the public, and received very good reviews.
Jazz was recognized for her charity work by Time, Out, Advocate and became a Youth Ambassador for Human Rights Campaign.
The amount of her influence on pop culture was perhaps best shown in 2015 when she was announced as a Johnson & Johnson’s model for Clean & Clear’s campaign.
She is very active on social media such as You Tube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and uses social media to communicate with her fans and engage in important discussions.
Personal Life
Being in the public eye from a very early age Jazz never hesitated in sharing personal information about her life.
However there isn’t much information on her dating history available to the public eye.
Jennings declares herself as being pansexual and stated publicly how she would love to be a mother one day.
Net worth
Jazz Jennings has an estimated net worth of $ 300 000 dollars.
Quick summary:
Full name: Jazz Jennings
Nickname: Unknown
Date of Birth: 6th October 2000
Birth Nation: United States of America
Nationality: American
Ethnicity: Jewish
Birth Place: South Florida
Age: 18
Height: 5’2”
Weight: 55kg
Net worth: $ 300 000
