Date of Birth

20 December 1990, Brattleboro, Vermont, USA

Birth Name

Joanna Noëlle Blagden Levesque

Nickname

Jo

Height

5' 3½" (1.61 m)

Mini Biography

JoJo was born Joanna Noëlle Levesque on December 20, 1990 in Brattleboro, Vermont and raised in Foxborough, Massachusetts to Diana Lynn Levesque (née Blagden) & Joel Maurice Levesque. She has Polish, English, Irish & Scottish ancestry on Diana's side and French-Canadian ancestry on Joel's side. Her mother, a church soloist and theatre performer, would sing hymns when JoJo was a baby. She grew up being a big fan of Whitney Houston, Etta James, Aretha Franklin & Ella Fitzgerald. A few years later she wanted to show her talent to the world and found an audition for Kids Say the Darndest Things (1998). She appeared at the audition and was allowed into the episode on the spot. Then, at Bill Cosby's request, she performed Respect for the audience, and got an amazing response from Cosby. That's when the calls started pouring in. First Oprah Winfrey asked her to appear on her super-popular talk show, followed by the Republican National Convention, the Boston Celtics, and Rosie O'Donnell. However, it was at the 2001 Gospelfest that she brought an entire crowd to its feet. Next she auditioned for America's Most Talented Kids (2003) competition. She didn't win, but she met a man named James Womack, who introduced her to an executive at Da Family Entertainment. She signed with them, and was offered two contracts before finding her match with Blackground Records. Before her single, Leave (Get Out) came out she toured with the prince of R'n'B, Mr Usher himself. Finally, her single came out and went directly to the top of the American charts.

Trivia

• Her father is of French-Canadian descent. JoJo's maternal grandfather was of Irish, as well as English and Scottish, ancestry, and JoJo's maternal grandmother was from a Polish family. JoJo has also stated that she has Native American roots.
• Has one dog named Sugarpie.
• Wrote three songs on her debut album, "JoJo".
• Sang a duet, with Shad Moss (aka Bow Wow), in her song, "Baby It's You".
• Was offered a record deal at the age of 6, but her mother turned it down because of her age. Later on, she competed on America's Most Talented Kids (2003), but lost to Diana DeGarmo. However, competing on "America's Most Talented Kids" landed her a record deal.
• Her mother earned a living as a cleaning lady and singing for churches.
• She is mentioned in the song, "Ass Like That", by Eminem.
• Is the youngest solo artist to have a number 1 song in America.
• Musically, she is a coloratura mezzo-soprano.
• After her parents divorced when she was 5 years old, she lived with her mother and moved often.
• Is friends with celebrities such as Sara Paxton and Emma Roberts, who were also her co-stars in Aquamarine (2006).
• Jojo's childhood dance teacher's name was Debra Leahy.
• She donated many items to Rocky Stone to be given to less fortunate kids as part of the Toy Mountain Campaign.
• Began singing at age 2.
• When growing up, she listened to Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James and *NSYNC.
• Daughter of Joel Levesque and Diana Blagden. JoJo was born born with her mother's last name, but it was later changed to her father's.
• She is a huge Red Sox fan.
• Grew up in Foxborough, Massachusetts. In Foxborough is Gilette Stadium, where the New England Patriots and Revolution play. Jojo was there to flip the coin for a Revolution game in April, 2007.
• Was Disney's first choice for the title role in Hannah Montana (2006), but turned it down. Reflecting on the show's success and the star power it gave Miley Cyrus, JoJo claimed to have no regrets.
• Finished filming Aquamarine (2006). [November 2005]
• Released her new music video "Too Little Too Late" [August 2006]
• Released her new album "The High Road" [September 2006]
• Filming RV (2006). [September 2005]
• Friend of Zelda Williams, who directed her music video, "Save Your Soul".
• Is good friends with pop singer Paula DeAnda.
• Her dad, Joel Maurice Levesque died on November 14, 2015 at 60 years old.
• Dated Freddy Adu from May 2005 to September 2006.

Quotes

• All the photos I've taken have been tasteful. If you show a lot of skin when you're 13, when you're older, when you're 16 or 21, what do you have left to show?
• People say that my music is too mature but I think people really knew what went on in junior high and high school. It's not too mature.
• I'm not Britney mark two. It's unfair that people compare us. I guess we are both young artists but we're totally different.
• I'm not trying to be like the cleanest person who's, like, never gonna show her stomach or anything, but I think I'm real for real girls.
• "I like a guy who can survive the streets. I like to feel like if I were ever in trouble, he would help me. I like to feel like a guy is a real dude-dude".
• [on her experience in school]: "I got along with some people, but a lot of kids disliked me in school. I'd be doing TV since I was six, and I think they thought that I thought I was better than them. That was never the case---I didn't even talk about TV in school! I'd be walking down the hall, and they would yell at me or push me into the wall. It really hurt. So I was afraid to go to school. I would stay in the guidance counselor's office for lunch, just because I didn't feel like I had a place."