Jazz Jennings

Jazz was born a male and named Jared. She was drawn to girly clothes and would be unhappy when dressed in boys’ clothes. Her parents thought it was a phase that would naturally pass but she started getting more feminine. On taking her to a specialist, Jazz was diagnosed with a gender identity disorder and was confirmed as a transgender. Her parents decided to bring her up as a girl and have faced many challenges. Jazz and her parents have appeared on television several times to share how tough her life is to grow up as a transgender. Her story has been screened on national television shows like ‘20/20’ and ‘The Rosie Show’, where she appeared with Chaz Bono who is a transgender man and a fellow LGBT activist. She has won numerous accolades for the courage she has shown over the years.

Along with her parents, Jazz founded Transkids Purple Rainbow Foundation in 2007. The foundation aims at assisting transgender youth. In 2011, a documentary on Jazz’s life and family called ‘I Am Jazz: A Family In Transition’ was first screened on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Network.’ In 2013, Jazz founded a company called Purple Rainbow Tails and fashions custom designed silicone mermaid tails to raise money for transgender children. She also battled the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) to permit transgender children to play soccer.

In 2014, Jazz was a guest on the GLAAD Media Awards and was named one of ‘The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014’ by ‘Time.’ She was also named a Human Rights campaign Youth Ambassador and received Youth Trailblazer Award from LogoTV. In March 2015, an announcement was made by Johnson & Johnson that Jazz would be appearing in their Clean & Clear commercials. She became a spokesmodel for Clean & Clear’s digital campaign and shared her experiences and struggles. She also modeled for a NOH8 campaign. NOH8 is a charitable organization that promotes LGBT rights and gender and human equality.