JoJo Siwa

JoJo Siwa is the daughter of Jessalynn Siwa, a dance instructor, and Tom Siwa, a chiropractor. She has an older brother, Jayden Siwa. Her father is of Polish descent.

Siwa came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in January 2021. She later described herself as pansexual and lesbian, and in 2025 said that she identified as queer rather than lesbian. She has also said that both pansexual and queer remain accurate labels for her sexuality. Siwa began a relationship with Chris Hughes after meeting him on Celebrity Big Brother in 2025.

Siwa began dancing before she was five and competed on the second season of Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition, where she became a top-five finalist and the youngest contestant to reach that season's finale. She appeared on the program with her mother and was eliminated in the ninth week.

After auditioning for Abby Lee Miller's ALDC competition team in 2014, Siwa joined the team in early 2015 and appeared on two seasons of Dance Moms. Her mother, Jessalynn, appeared alongside her on the show. Siwa became known for her outspoken interviews and her performances with the ALDC team before leaving during the sixth season after signing a consumer deal with Nickelodeon.

Siwa released "Boomerang" in 2016, a song about online bullying and moving beyond negativity. Its music video became one of her most successful releases, receiving more than one billion views on YouTube. She followed it with songs including "Kid in a Candy Store" and "Hold the Drama," then released the EPs D.R.E.A.M. The Music in 2018 and Celebrate in 2019.

Her brightly colored hair bows became a defining part of her public image. JoJo's Bows began selling at Claire's in 2016, and the products became so popular among schoolchildren that some schools banned them because of distraction, peer pressure, or dress-code concerns. Siwa said the bow represented power, confidence, and believing in oneself. She launched the D.R.E.A.M. The Tour in 2019.

Siwa signed an overall talent deal with Nickelodeon in 2017. She co-hosted Lip Sync Battle Shorties with Nick Cannon and appeared in programs and films including Bizaardvark, The Thundermans, School of Rock, Blurt! and The Angry Birds Movie 2. She also appeared in The JoJo & BowBow Show Show with her dog BowBow.

In 2020, Siwa competed as T-Rex on The Masked Singer. She later executive produced and starred as a fictionalized version of herself in the Nickelodeon musical film The J Team. Her other television work includes judging So You Think You Can Dance, hosting the Children's and Family Emmy Awards, appearing as a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, and competing on the British version of Celebrity Big Brother, where she finished in third place.

Siwa competed on the 30th season of Dancing with the Stars with professional dancer Jenna Johnson. Their pairing was the first same-sex dancing partnership in the show's history, and they finished as the season's runners-up.

Siwa was included in Time magazine's 2020 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. She received the Gamechanger Award from GLSEN in 2022 for anti-bullying advocacy and has worked with Dancers Against Cancer. In 2023, she and Jessalynn formed the girl group XOMG Pop, which reached the live shows on the 17th season of America's Got Talent.

Siwa began a post-Nickelodeon phase of her music career in 2024 with the single "Karma." She described the song as her first breakout adult moment after years of performing with a child-friendly image. Her comments about creating a genre called "gay pop" prompted criticism, after which she clarified that she was not claiming to have invented the genre.

She released the five-song EP Guilty Pleasure in July 2024. Later releases included "Iced Coffee," "Bulletproof," and a cover of "Bette Davis Eyes." In 2025, she performed across the United Kingdom and Europe on the Infinity Heart Tour and received the Humanitarian Award at the Dancers Against Cancer Gala of the Stars.