Jazz Jennings is an American teenage trans girl, YouTube celebrity, spokesmodel and LGBTQ rights activist. Jennings is notable for being one of the youngest publicly documented people to be identified as gender dysphoric, and for being the youngest person to become a national figure for being transgendered. Jennings received national attention in 2007 when an interview with Barbara Walters aired on20/20, which led to other high-profile interviews and appearances. Christine Connelly, a member of the board of directors for the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth (BAGLY), 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." Her parents noted that Jazz was clear on being female as soon as she could speak.
Jennings is an honorary co-founder of the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation, which she and 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. Jennings hosts a series of YouTube videos about her life, titled "I am Jazz", making her one of the youngest trans females in history to speak out on issues publicly. Jennings stars in the 11-part TLC reality TV series, I Am Jazz, which focuses on her life as a teenager, and as a transgender youth, and which premiered on July 15, 2015.
