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WOMEN WE LOVE, TEEN EDITION: JoJo Siwa

Written by Lori Bashian. Published: July 22 2019

 

Abby Lee Miller has always claimed to be in the business of creating stars. When it comes to JoJo Siwa, she helped to create a megastar. 

 

Before you were able to find a JoJo Bow in every Claire’s store, JoJo was just a little girl living in Omaha, Nebraska, with dreams of becoming a professional dancer. With a dance teacher as a mom, she had a pretty good shot. Her first chance came when she was 9 years old and was a contestant on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition. As the youngest contestant of the season, JoJo impressed all the judges by making it to the Top 5, ultimately getting eliminated in the 9th week. 

 

She might not have gone to the top, but the attention she gained on the popular competition show earned her a spot on "Dance Moms", Lifetime’s reality show centered around instructor Abby Lee Miller’s junior elite competition team. JoJo became a team member and quickly became a fan favorite due to her wit and her ability to stand up for herself. Her over-the-top personality and gigantic bows also helped her to stand out.

 

 

 

After leaving "Dance Moms" with 2 seasons under her belt, Siwa has gone on to make a name for herself as the queen of Nickelodeon. She has been featured all over the network with guest appearances on various shows, either as herself or a character. Some of the shows she has been on include "The Thundermans", "School of Rock", "Lip Sync Battle Shorties", "Nickelodeon's Not-So-Valentine Special", "Nickelodeon's Ultimate Halloween Haunted House", and "Nickelodeon's Ultimate Halloween Costume Party". She also had guest-starring roles on Disney Channel’s "Bizaardvark" and "Make It Pop".

 

JoJo has also proven to be quite business savvy, identifying what made her unique and capitalizing on it. She took her signature bows and marketed them to little girls all over the country. It wasn’t long before you couldn’t walk into any store without seeing a JoJo Bow on the shelves. JoJo marketed the bows as being a "symbol of power, confidence, believing-ness."

 

With a widely popular YouTube Channel boasting 9.7 million subscribers, JoJo has caught the attention of many major celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, who was featured in one of her videos along with daughter NorthWest. She has even reached the level of fame where a Twitter feud with Justin Bieber became inevitable. 

 

 

 

JoJo found her niche and continues to be a role model for little girls everywhere.

 

With a book, an animated YouTube series, 13 hit singles, and an extremely successful tour celebrating the release of her first EP, entitled D.R.E.A.M. the Tour, JoJo with the bow bow is well on her way to becoming a household name, if she isn’t already.