Jessalynn Siwa and Dr. Tom Siwa welcomed JoJo Siwa into the world on May 19, 2003. In Omaha, Nebraska, she grew up next to her older brother Jayden.
According to Jessalynn, who spoke to Time, JoJo had star potential from an early age. JoJo was only 1 and a half years old, according to Jessalynn, when she first noticed her passion for performing: “She liked being there, and everyone liked to see her.”
When JoJo was two years old, she began performing with the aid of Jessalynn. Jessalynn ran a dancing studio and came from a family of dancers. She put in endless hours perfecting JoJo’s choreography, but for a while, the mother-daughter team encountered a lot of opposition. It would have been simple to quit up, but Jessalynn was motivated by JoJo’s limitless potential.
When the pair submitted an audition tape to Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, it was their big break. The winning prize package includes a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet and $100,000. JoJo was a season 2 star who was known for both her talent for dancing and her love of drama. As she stated to Time:
“Working on that show has its highs and lows. When things were tough, I thought, “God, I didn’t even truly ask her if she wanted to do this program.” But she cherished it.
In Dance Moms, Jessalynn and JoJo were the characters whom viewers both rooted for and loved to dislike. Off-stage, JoJo was explosive, and she and her mother frequently stoked the drama together. Other mothers criticized Jessalynn for taking advantage of JoJo, but JoJo didn’t see it that way.
