Now creatively directing a range of start-up brands, with product design sales exceeding 2 million units.

JH has created masterclasses as both an artist and social media strategist for Skillshare, Domestika, and Retrieve, and has hosted national teaching tours. JoJo has led panels across the globe at events including DragCon, VidCon, BeautyCon, and more. A speaker and educator with a focus on LGBT inclusion across multiple industries, JoJo has been featured on the Google homepage, created campaigns with the United Nations, and was highlighted in YouTube’s End of Year Review 2016–17. JoJo is an ambassador for the King’s Trust, Mermaids, Veganuary, and several environmental and LGBT nonprofit organisations, contributing to over £300,000 in fundraising.

FULL BIOGRAPHY

EARLY START

Growing up in the countryside of Brighton, JoJo found escapism in video games and connected deeply with the androgynous, fantastical characters within them. These depictions influenced JoJo’s early creative identity, learning to draw by studying character art and the 3D models used in game development. This sparked a lifelong exploration of aesthetics.

JoJo began exploring the LGBT scene at an early age and was frequently photographed for exhibitions and art projects. These photos led to a platform on MySpace with over 300,000 followers by age 15, attracting an editor from Dazed and Confused who invited JoJo to cast for both a cover and a lookbook for McQueen’s McQ line. After shooting numerous editorials and walking in London Fashion Week, JoJo adopted the name “Joseph Harwood” as a deliberately masculine moniker to minimise confusion around gender identity. While traveling to Tokyo at 17, JoJo corrected makeup during a photoshoot, prompting the photographer to suggest a future in makeup artistry—an insight that changed everything. Returning to the UK, JoJo sought employment in beauty retail; despite challenges linked to their androgynous appearance, they were eventually invited by MAC Cosmetics Brighton to assist in a masterclass hosted by Terry Barber, offering a first glimpse into the professional beauty world.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Through the Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme, JoJo gained the tools to monetise both makeup artistry and early product development. Investing in prototype brush designs and joining the trans-focused YouTube channel 5AT, JoJo became part of a new wave of creators bypassing traditional gatekeepers, allowing trans people to build autonomous careers. Harwood became known as a social media pioneer, adopting a mermaid aesthetic and developing merchandise, hair products, and educational content.

In January 2013, JoJo began creating high-quality tutorials on YouTube, characterised by unique concepts and a sketchbook approach. At a time when gender-ambiguous people in the UK had little visibility—especially in beauty—JoJo became the first trans creator to reach millions of views. This marked the start of collaborations with premium beauty brands including L’Oréal, Liz Earle, Artis, MAC, and Illamasqua. The JHCosmetics YouTube channel expanded into multiple content verticals, from celebrity transformations and anatomical breakdowns to creature designs and LGBT-focused vlogs. By June 2013, Harwood had become the go-to creative makeup artist in the UK for both celebrity and gender-nonconforming looks. Amassing over 100 million tutorial views and coverage in more than 90 publications—including The Daily Mail and BuzzFeed—JoJo emerged as Europe’s largest openly trans beauty creator.

In 2014, Harwood entered the first digital incarnation of America’s Got Talent, The You Generation Competition, and won with a gender-focused art video. Although awarded a six-figure cash prize, Syco did not provide the typical promotion given to franchise winners; the payment was issued before the competition concluded, and the content was later removed from social platforms, minimising visibility of the achievement. This story was first covered by Fast Company in 2018.

BEAUTY

After moving to America to pursue celebrity makeup artistry, Harwood collaborated extensively with World of Wonder, producers of RuPaul’s Drag Race, across conventions, panels, and digital programming. Harwood also served as key support for Perfect Androgyny, a multi-channel network JoJo built to platform over 50 gender-expansive creators who have since grown into major social media voices. Featured on the Google homepage in tribute to David Bowie, JoJo also produced three environmental campaigns with YouTube and the UN focused on ocean pollution caused by the beauty industry, and contributed to YouTube’s 2016 End of Year Review.

As JoJo’s career advanced, so did awareness of the barriers trans people face in reaching leadership roles within the beauty industry. This led to retraining in product development and working on skincare, beauty tools, and colour cosmetics across the UK market. JoJo was then approached to help build Jecca Blac, a transgender-focused makeup line supported by L’Oréal Innovations. The partnership was announced in Forbes, spotlighting JoJo’s pioneering work in creating accessible beauty resources for the trans community.

Co-designing both face products, the branding, instructional materials, and marketing strategy, the launch received critical acclaim in 2018. Jecca Blac became globally accessible and was celebrated across major UK fashion publications—from Vogue to Elle, where it reached number one in the Pride list—and won several industry awards. JoJo was invited to share their story internally at Out @ L’Oréal and later partnered with PUIG on developing inclusive strategies for its portfolio through ten ateliers in Paris and Barcelona. During the pandemic, JoJo presented their experience to the Estée Lauder Corporation’s leadership team and helped open the inclusivity ERG, supporting greater LGBT representation across its brands. In 2021, JoJo was invited to join the British Beauty Council and currently serves on the Board of Diversity & Inclusion to address ongoing industry challenges.

VERTICALS + INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORIGINALS

JoJo introduced several digital signatures that have since become staples of beauty social media. These include foundational “basics” tutorials dissecting each facial feature—such as hair-drawn brows, the under-eye highlight–nose contour technique, and the mermaid/doll-eyed aesthetic. JoJo also originated concepts including the “boy to girl” transformation series, reframing content often misinterpreted with adult undertones, alongside monster tutorials inspired by sketchbook designs and photorealistic celebrity transformations. These works—created between 2008 and 2016—are protected as NFT-certified original concepts combining greenscreen, filters, and practical artistry.

A proud advocate for the trans community, JoJo has also focused on exposing the dangers of unregulated plastic surgery, a topic affecting many trans individuals seeking affirming procedures. By investigating the stories of early pioneers and highlighting the risks of silicone and quick-fix solutions, Harwood created the leading plastic surgery investigation series, featuring over 50 partnerships, interviews, and documented procedures.

ADVOCATE WORK + ACHIEVEMENTS

Google approached Harwood to participate as a YouTube product tester, consulting and providing feedback on the changes needed across the algorithm for LGBT users and the platform’s new functions. This provided JoJo with deeper insight into how trans people were increasingly being minimised on social media—an alarming shift given how essential the space had become for LGBT individuals navigating a difficult employment landscape. Recognising gaps in representation across multiple areas, JoJo launched a new lifestyle platform focused on bringing queer perspectives into underrepresented lanes, including vegan food, lifestyle, growth, beauty, and travel. JHournal is now a thriving, innovative publication hub showcasing the value of LGBT voices across diverse content categories.

Harwood supports numerous charities focused on environmentalism, including serving as an ambassador for Veganuary and writing sustainable recipes for the World Food Programme. A proud ambassador for the Prince’s Trust for several years, JoJo was recognised by the organisation in 2022 with a Prince’s Trust Award nomination for trailblazing achievements and ongoing support. Harwood has been shortlisted for several honours, including the National Diversity Awards and the Forbes 30 Under 30 (Media & Arts) longlist in 2021. JoJo served as the LGBT Ambassador for the King’s Trust in 2024 and launched a Mermaids merchandise line supporting trans youth. As of 2025, JH has contributed to raising over £300,000.

JoJo is the CEO of Joseph Harwood Ltd., Creative Director of JHournal, and Creative Director of the Team Baron Group (including Agitprop Studio, Team Baron Management, and Team Baron Brands).

EDUCATION

At nine years old, JoJo achieved the highest CAT score in their school year and was invited to participate in a jumpstart GCSE programme held the following year at Mile Oak Primary School. Passing GCSE mathematics at age 10, Harwood was then advanced to the Aim Higher programme and invited to attend both secondary education at Portslade Community College and Level 6 biochemistry lectures at Sussex University.

At 16, Harwood studied five A-Levels—Graphic Design, Fine Art, Photography, German, and Biology—at Varndean College, before completing a Fashion Design Art Foundation BTEC Diploma at City College Brighton and Hove. Graduating with a portfolio of gender-neutral clothing, Harwood applied to and was accepted at Central Saint Martins to study Menswear Fashion Design. Shortly after, JoJo discovered a newly introduced MSc in Cosmetic Science at the London College of Fashion. Despite not meeting all of the science entry requirements, JoJo appealed and received a glowing reference from Professeur de Parfums Roja Dove. Invited to complete a summer school to demonstrate aptitude, JoJo succeeded and was accepted into the MSc programme, bringing together artistic expertise as a creative director with the technical knowledge of a cosmetic formulator.

JoJo also holds multiple additional qualifications in French, Spanish, Pattern Cutting, Design, and Health & Safety.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

SHORT BIO

Joseph Harwood is a British gender-nonconforming artist and beauty expert. A pioneer on social media, JoJo became the first transgender person in the UK to brand and monetise beauty content, reaching over 100 million views across LGBT content and beauty tutorials. After winning the digital version of America’s Got Talent, Simon Cowell’s The You Generation competition, Harwood went on to be featured in YouTube’s Year in Review and on the Google homepage, and created UN campaigns highlighting plastic pollution caused by the beauty industry. A Prince’s Trust Ambassador and trained cosmetic formulator, Harwood now focuses on product design within the beauty industry, alongside developing inclusive IED guidelines within corporate structures and offering expert insight into digital media.