Ari Jennings: The Brilliant and Supportive Sister of Jazz Jennings
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Ari Jennings
Ari Jennings is known for being the older sister of reality TV star and LGBT rights activist Jazz Jennings. Ari was born on 24th December 1995, in Florida, USA, whereas Jazz – birth name Jared – was welcomed into the world on 6th October 2000. The girls have two siblings, twin brothers Sander and Griffen Jennings, born on 10th March 1998.
As it happens, Jennings is not the real family name. Ari’s parents, Greg and Jeanette, are Jewish and adopted the American surname as a pseudonym to ‘make life easier’. ‘We try to hide our real last name as much as possible,’ Jeanette once explained, due to it being very ‘Jewish’ and long.
Not much is known about Ari, as she posts sparingly on social media. Her last post at time of writing was uploaded in September 2023. A month prior, the brunette hinted at a relationship after uploading a number of photos with Jeremy Petusevsky, which she captioned: ‘Dropped my person off on the west coast this week, very excited for this new chapter’.
Jeanette and the rest of the Jennings family are reportedly on good terms with Jeremy, as they commented on the photo wishing him good luck and a safe journey. Little is known of Jeremy, but he describes himself on social media as a singer and cook.
A 2015 article states that Ari was, at the time, a senior at the University of Florida and member of the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority. After her first year at college, Ari and a group of friends traveled to Israel to sightsee, visiting historical landmarks. The article also claimed that singing was one of Ari’s greatest passions and that she hoped to work professionally in the music industry one day; however, the TV personality has since focused on other ventures.
When Jazz came out as transgender, Ari was confused but soon became a vital part of her sister’s support system. Online sources report that prior to transitioning, Jazz often sneaked into Ari’s room to play with her toys and wear her clothes. These days, the sisters share an unbreakable bond, and discuss everything from relationships to fashion and their future aspirations – and yes, Jazz continues to ‘borrow’ or steal her older sister’s clothes.
Although we can’t confirm Ari’s college major or if she graduated, we do know that she was an academically gifted student during her high school days, and was named salutatorian of her class. A quick glance at the brunette’s Instagram profile doesn’t provide much context regarding her current job, so we can assume that she earns a living from her reality TV paychecks and public appearances.
Jennings Family
Jazz made history as one of the youngest publicly documented people to identify as transgender, after being diagnosed with gender dysphoria at the extremely young age of four. According to Greg and Jeanette, Jazz claimed to be female as soon as she could speak, and wanted to wear feminine clothing despite her parents initially dressing her in a gender-neutral manner.
In 2019, Jazz graduated from Broward Virtual School, and was the class valedictorian. Despite being accepted into Harvard University, she decided to take a gap year to focus on her career in the public eye.
Jazz and the Jennings family began making their first TV appearances to discuss growing up transgender when she was just six years old. “The Rosie Show” and other national programs covered her story; in 2007, Greg and Jeanette founded the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation to aid transgender youth.
In 2011, a documentary about the starlet’s life and family, “I Am Jazz: A Family in Transition”, premiered on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Two years later, the small-screen personality embarked on yet another philanthropic pursuit with Purple Rainbow Tails, through which she raised funds for transgender children by making and selling rubber mermaid tails.
In 2013, Jazz was also interviewed on the “20/20” show and discussed her struggles to be allowed to play on the girls’ teams by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). Eventually, Jazz teamed up with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, to change the USSF’s policies and allow trans students to play.
Jazz continued to be a prominent youth trans activist, and authored her first book, “I Am Jaz”, in 2014, in which she detailed her life as a transgender child. She was also named amongst the 25 most influential teens by Time magazine and featured on various 40 Under 40 lists. The momentous year ended with Jazz receiving the 2014 Youth Trailblazer Award at the LogoTV ceremony, and being named as a Human Rights Campaign Youth Ambassador.
Johnson & Johnson announced a commercial deal with Jazz in 2015, as she became the spokesmodel of the brand’s “See The Real Me” digital campaign. In July of the same year, the TLC reality series “I Am Jazz” premiered to glowing reviews, chronicling the Jennings’ family’s day-to-day life. The show has been enormously successful so far, and premiered its eighth season in January 2023. The trans activist also penned her memoir, “Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen” in 2016.
The Tonner Doll Company announced a future line of transgender dolls modeled after Jazz in 2017. Jazz also debuted as a voiceover artist, with a small role in “Danger & Eggs”, which she described as a ‘groundbreaking’ experience. Jazz’s showbiz career continued with a starring role in the short “Denim”, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video in summer 2019.
In March 2023, various conservative news outlets began reporting that Jazz regretted transitioning from male to female at such a young age. However, the reality star hit back at the media, Tweeting: ‘I don’t regret my transition AT ALL. When I was 11, I started male puberty and was put on hormone blockers… If I were forced to go through male puberty, it would’ve been devastating.’
Meanwhile, Griffen and Sander have gone on to have successful careers in their respective industries. Sander is the CEO of DigiEmpower marketing agency, and offers his fans life coaching classes, whereas Griffen recently graduated with a degree in tax law, and celebrated his one-year anniversary with his girlfriend Amanda.
