Jonathan Van Ness

Jonathan McDonald Van Ness, also known by his initials J.V.N., is an American hairstylist, podcast host, author, and television personality. Born on March 28, 1987, Van Ness is best known as the grooming expert on the Netflix series Queer Eye, as the host of the podcast Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness, and for creating the web series parody Gay of Thrones.

Van Ness was raised in Quincy, Illinois. He comes from a family involved in media through Quincy Media and its flagship local newspaper, the Herald-Whig, where his mother served as vice president. Van Ness attended Quincy Senior High School, where he was the school's first male cheerleader. He later attended the University of Arizona to major in political science while continuing cheerleading, before leaving after one semester to pursue hairstyling. He completed his training at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis.

After finishing his training, Van Ness worked as a hairstylist in Arizona for five years before moving to Los Angeles in 2009. In Los Angeles, he worked at the Sally Hershberger Salon, MoJoHair, and co-founded Stile Salon alongside Monique Northrop. During his time working in Los Angeles, Van Ness was diagnosed as HIV-positive at age 25, an experience that led him to overcome personal drug addictions and publicly share his story.

Van Ness's media career expanded in 2013 when he began hosting the Funny or Die recap web series Gay of Thrones, which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series in 2018. In 2015, he launched the weekly podcast Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness. His public profile grew further in 2018 when he joined the rebooted cast of Netflix's Queer Eye as the series' grooming expert.

In addition to his work in television and digital media, Van Ness is an author and live performer. He published his memoir, Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love, in October 2019. He subsequently released the children's picture book Peanut Goes for the Gold in 2020 and the essay collection Love That Story: Observations from a Gorgeously Queer Life in 2022. He has also performed on comedy tours, including his 2023 tour entitled Fun & Slutty with Jonathan Van Ness.

Van Ness is non-binary and gender non-conforming, using they, he, and she pronouns. He divides his time between Austin, Texas, and New York City. Outside of entertainment, Van Ness has engaged in political advocacy, including advocating for the Equality Act with members of the U.S. Congress and endorsing political candidates. In December 2020, Van Ness announced that he had married his partner, Mark Peacock, earlier that year.