Joseph (Jojo) Harwood (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Lawrence, born 3 May 1990) is a British model, artist and social media personality, best known for being the first ever transgender person to win a reality based talent competition,

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

’s the You Generation Competition.

Early life

Harwood was born and raised in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. Harwood was part of an early start school scheme, studying and completing GCSE exams at the age of 10 years old. Harwood went on to study an MSc in Cosmetic Science at

London College of Fashion The London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers undergraduate and postgraduate study, short courses, study-abroad courses and business t ...

focusing on Cosmetic Science.

Modelling

Harwood was scouted as a model at the age of 14 when an editor from Dazed and Confused magazine discovered them on MySpace. Harwood walked in

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London, England, twice a year, in June and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fash ...

for the first time at age 15 in androgynous guise.

Social media

Jojo developed a series of celebrity illusions, gender focused tutorials and makeup how-to videos in 2013. In 2013 Simon Cowell created the first incarnation of Got Talent on digital media,

’s the You Generation Competition. Harwood entered with a gender orientated piece and was chosen as the winner of the makeup category by bloggers Pixiwoo, which led to the announcement of a grand prize of $75,000 being awarded.

Syco Syco Entertainment is a British media entertainment and production company, headquartered in London, founded and owned by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. The company focuses on TV production. The company was formed in 2 ...

did not formally announce Harwood as the winner outside of an announcement on Twitter, and this was covered in

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

in 2018. Harwood was the first transgender person to win a reality based talent show, and was the first trans person to create premium beauty collaborations with multiple brands, Vice referring to Jojo as the ‘Yoda of Contemporary Drag.’ Harwood has established over 100m views on tutorial content across YouTube.

Makeup artistry

Jojo’s distinct

makeup Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or created sy ...

style attracted many celebrities and

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

reality stars, who invited Harwood to guide them through makeup, this led to multiple covers, editorials and magazine features. Jojo was featured in

Now Magazine ''Now'' (styled as ''NOW''), also known as ''NOW Magazine'' is an online publication based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Through most of its existence, ''Now'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper. Physical publication of ''Now'' was suspended ...

in 2013 as the ‘Queen of Transformations.’ In 2018 Jojo co-designed the product line Jecca Blac, under L’Oreal Innovations which was a trans led, trans orientated makeup line announced on

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

. This was met with critical acclaim, leading to Harwood being invited to contribute to the DEI guidelines with brands

PUIG Puig () is a word and surname of Catalan origin, meaning "hill" or "peak". The word derives from Latin ''podium'' meaning "balcony". Geographical features * Puig-l'agulla, a mountain of Catalonia * Puig de l'Àliga (Sant Pere de Torelló), a mo ...

, and to open Estee Lauders inclusivity ERG with the VP’s of each brand. Harwood is frequently asked to consult on inclusivity in beauty, being interviewed for BBC, Vogue and Elle. Harwood was invited to be a member of the British Beauty Council in 2022, and sits on the DEI board of advisors. Harwood was invited to be an advisory board member on AI Tech Company Revieve

Activism

Harwood is a Princes Trust ambassador, has been featured in

Veganuary Veganuary is an annual challenge run by a UK nonprofit organisation that promotes and educates about the vegan lifestyle by encouraging people to follow a vegan diet for the month of January. Since the event began in 2014, participation has inc ...

2021 and has created campaigns for the UN, YouTube x Little by Little, focusing on ocean pollution as a result of the cosmetics industry, which won an award. Harwood was featured on Pride Life Global as one of the leading LGBT voices of our generation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harwood, Joseph 1991 births Living people Artists from Brighton British male models British Internet celebrities British LGBTQ models British transgender men British transgender artists Social media influencers Transgender male artists Transgender male models LGBTQ Internet celebrities 21st-century British people British models 21st-century British male artists 21st-century British LGBTQ people British LGBTQ male artists