Jonathan Van Ness

Jonathan Van Ness was born March 28, 1987, to parents Mary Winters and Jonathan Lyle Van Ness, and raised in Quincy, Illinois.^[1][5] He said he comes "from a family of journalists", being the sixth generation of his family-owned newspaper.^[6] This refers to broadcast and newspaper conglomerate Quincy Media and the company's local flagship newspaper, the Herald-Whig; Van Ness's mother is the vice president of Quincy Media, and he is a descendant of the Oakley family, which has controlled the company since the 1890s.^[7] Van Ness's 9th great-grandmother, Patience Bacon Miller, was one of the founders of Northampton, Massachusetts, and was the first female surgeon in America.^[8]

When Van Ness was younger, he was sexually abused by an older boy at church, which laid the foundation for self-destructive behaviors.^[9] In his early teens, he used online chat to socialize with older men, and sometimes meet with them for sex.^[9]

Openly gay throughout his life,^[10] Van Ness experienced bullying for his femininity and natural flamboyance. He "endured years of judgment, ridicule, and trauma". Of the time, Van Ness said, "Growing up I definitely put on every nail polish, every heel, every scarf – I definitely had my mom's knockoff Hermès scarves in my hair and around my waist – those were my skirts, and I loved it. ... But when I was really young, I had really femme-shamey, gender-shamey [reactions] when I would dress like that. When I would play with those things, I knew it needed to be ... behind closed doors."^[11] Although always comfortable in his gender expression and sexuality, he says it took time to navigate other people's reactions.^[11] In response to the bullying, he used humor as a coping mechanism and relied on a small group of close friends for support.^[12] Years later, in the late 2010s, he realized he was gender non-conforming and came out as non-binary.^[11][13] He uses they/them, he/him, and she/her pronouns.^{[14][non-primary source needed]}

Van Ness was the first male cheerleader at Quincy Senior High School and continued cheerleading in college at the University of Arizona, where he majored in political science.^[10][15] One month in his initial semester at college, he used his monthly allowance on cocaine and, too embarrassed to ask his parents for funds, turned to sex work.^[9] His addictions to sex and drugs increased to also include methamphetamine.^[9] His grades fell, and he lost his cheerleading scholarship; he dropped out after one semester to pursue hairstyling.^[12][16]

Van Ness trained at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis.^[17] After graduating,^[18] he worked in Arizona for five years,^[19] before moving to Los Angeles in 2009.^[10]

In Los Angeles, Van Ness found a job as a personal assistant at Sally Hershberger Salon.^[10][18] One day in 2012, at age 25, he fainted in the salon while doing highlights for a client's hair.^[9] Later at a clinic, he found out he was HIV-positive.^[7] He used the revelation to get clean from drug use and publicly shared his story, saying, "I want people to realize you're never too broken to be fixed."^{[9][citation not found]}

He worked at MoJoHair and Stile Salon, both in Los Angeles, which he co-founded with Monique Northrop of Arte Salon in New York City.^{[18][citation not found]}

Van Ness is non-binary.^[13][29] Although he has stated a preference for using the pronouns he/him, he has also used she/her and they/them interchangeably.^[30][31] He explained his gender in an interview with Out, saying, "Some days I feel like a man, but then other days I feel like a woman. I don't really — I think my energies are really all over the place. Any opportunity I have to break down stereotypes of the binary, I am down for it, I'm here for it."^[13] However, on his Instagram account, the pronouns displayed by order of preferences are they/he/she.^[14]

Van Ness lives and works in Austin, Texas and New York City. He has psoriasis, a chronic skin condition, and advises clients on skin care.^[32] In 2019, he revealed that he is HIV positive.^[33]

On April 4, 2019, Van Ness, Bobby Berk, Tan France, and Antoni Porowski visited Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to discuss the Equality Act, a bill that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of classes protected in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.^[34] On September 25, Van Ness announced his endorsement of Elizabeth Warren for president in 2020 based upon healthcare being a human right.^[35]

On June 23, 2020, Van Ness and Queer Eye costar Bobby Berk praised recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that ruled that LGBT employment discrimination was a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.^[36] Van Ness described the ruling as "a great step in the right direction".^[36] However, both of them still urged the United States Congress to pass the proposed Equality Act,^[36] which passed the House but ultimately stalled in the Senate following a filibuster.

In December 2020, Van Ness revealed that he had married his partner, Mark Peacock, earlier that year.^[37]

• Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love (2019)
• Peanut Goes for the Gold (2020)
• Love That Story: Observations from a Gorgeously Queer Life (2022)

• LGBTQ culture in New York City
• List of LGBTQ people from New York City