Jonathan McDonald Van Ness (born March 28, 1987), also commonly referred to by their initials JVN, is an American hairstylist, podcast host and television personality. He is best known as the grooming expert on the Netflix series Queer Eye, for his work on the web series parody Gay of Thrones, and for hosting the Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness podcast. Jonathan Van Ness was born March 28, 1987, to parents Mary Winters and Jonathan Lyle Van Ness, and raised in Quincy, Illinois. He said he comes "from a family of journalists", being the sixth generation of his family-owned newspaper. This refers to broadcast and newspaper conglomerate Quincy Media and the company's local flagship newspaper, the Herald-Whig; Van Ness's mother is the vice president of Quincy Media, and he is a descendant of the Oakley family, which has controlled the company since the 1890s. When Van Ness was younger, he was sexually abused by an older boy at church, which laid the foundation for self-destructive behaviors. In his early teens, he used online chat to socialize with, and sometimes meet, older men for sex. Openly gay throughout his life, Van Ness experienced bullying for his femininity and natural flamboyance. He "endured years of judgment, ridicule, and trauma." Of the time, Van Ness said, "Growing up I definitely put on every nail polish, every heel, every scarf – I definitely had my mom's knockoff Hermès scarves in my hair and around my waist – those were my skirts, and I loved it. ... But when I was really young, I had really femme-shamey, gender-shamey [reactions] when I would dress like that. When I would play with those things, I knew it needed to be ... behind closed doors." Although always comfortable in his gender expression and sexuality, he says it took time to navigate other people's reactions. In response to the bullying, he used humor as a coping mechanism and relied on a small group of close friends for support. Years later, in the late 2010s, he realized he was gender non-conforming and started identifying as non-binary. Van Ness was the first male cheerleader at Quincy Senior High School and continued cheerleading in college at the University of Arizona, where he majored in political science. One month in his initial semester at college, he used up his monthly allowance on cocaine and, too embarrassed to ask his parents for funds, turned to sex work. His addictions to sex and drugs increased to also include methamphetamine. His grades fell, and he lost his cheerleading scholarship; he dropped out after one semester to pursue hairstyling. Van Ness trained at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis. After graduating, he worked in Arizona for five years, before moving to Los Angeles in 2009.