Joelle Joanie “JoJo” Siwa shines—literally. If you haven’t yet been dazzled by the 18-year-old’s signature rainbow-sequined outfits and hair bows, then perhaps you’ve been struck by her sheer star power. The dancer, singer, actress, and YouTube personality is unequivocally one of the most influential teenage entrepreneurs on the planet. After getting her start on Dance Moms and spinoff Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition at age 9, the Omaha native began a YouTube channel called JoJo’s Juice where her larger-than-life personality could have space to thrive. It worked: Since then, she’s garnered more than 12 million subscribers (including one North West). So Siwa tried adding lyrics to her dancing, which worked too. Her 2016 single “Boomerang” is approaching 1 billion views. It was only a matter of time until Siwa inked an overall talent deal with Nickelodeon at 13, which has led to multiple TV shows, a movie, books, a sold-out headline tour, and merchandise. Siwa now has 36.4 million followers on TikTok, 10.9 million on Instagram, and—thanks to collaborations with Claire’s and J.C. Penney—you can basically buy everything from bedspreads to roller skates with Siwa’s face on it. But her biggest sellers are her trademark bows, which have generated $400 million in revenue so far. Siwa’s messaging of positivity, self-love, and self-expression runs through everything she creates, and she’s recently used her platform to be even more vocal about her authentic self. In January 2021, Siwa came out as queer on social media, and she has made history as part of the first same-sex partnership on season 30 of Dancing With the Stars. At the rate Siwa’s glitter-and-bows empire is growing, nothing stands to dull her sparkle.
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