Jade Thirlwall

 ( 1992 Births ) 

"Doing a lot of performing arts growing up and stuff, I've always been surrounded by a lot of LGBTQ+ friends that have been in theatre school with me or at school. When we used to go on holiday Benidorm, one of the favourite things was when me mam used to the drag shows. Me mam's always been into the glitz and the glamour of and her idol and my idols are Diana Ross, and all the big divas. And I think for me growing up, whenever I saw drag shows as a little girl, I associated drag queens with the big divas. It's something that we've always loved".

Thirlwall has multiple tattoos. On her spine, she has an Arabic tattoo that reads "Anyone can achieve their dreams if they've got the courage" as a tribute to her Egyptian and Yemeni ancestry, as well as a tattoo on her ribcage that means "queen" in Arabic. She also has tattoos on her feet, and in 2019 revealed a henna-style design on her right foot. She got a tattoo on her leg in 2021 to commemorate the day Little Mix were formed, in celebration of the group's tenth anniversary.

Thirlwall is open about her struggles with body image, racism, bullying, and eating disorder, which she first developed at that age of 13. As a child and teenager she experienced prejudice and racism for her mixed ethnicity, recalling in an interview for Vogue Arabia:

"At school, I didn't fit into any group, and started to experience prejudice and racism. I was one of the very few people of colour in the school, so from the off I felt like an outcast. I used to get called the P-word, which I didn't understand as I'm not Pakistani. I was also called half-caste. During one incident someone pinned me down in the toilets and put a bindi spot on my forehead. There was a complete lack of education and understanding of different races and faiths. It affected my mental health. I became very depressed and it triggered the eating disorder I had throughout school."

In 2022, Thirlwall appeared on Heat "UK and Ireland 30 under 30" rich list for the first time with an estimated net worth of £17.5 million placing her at number 15. The following year, she climbed to 11th position with £19.8 million.

In September 2020, she was photographed alongside Heidi Klum, Lil Nas X and Helen Christensen by fashion campaign Christian Cowan for his Spring/Summer 2021 collection. On 10 September 2021, Thirlwall was announced as the new face ambassador of the Italian sportswear brand, Ellesse "Autumn/Winter" collection. On 11 October 2021, she released her own eyeshadow palette in collaboration with Beauty Bay. On 12 February 2025, Italian fashion house Fendi launched an advertising campaign featuring Thirlwall.

In 2019, Thirlwall and Michelle Visage raised £10,000 for the Mermaids UK, and in the same year she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day with Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and other British celebrities. In December 2019, she spent her birthday raising money for cancer charities which has become a yearly tradition for her. In 2020, she attended a march with Stonewall during Manchester Pride and took to social media to call out someone who questioned the importance of pride month.

In June 2020, Thirlwall attended a Black Lives Matter protest in the UK following the death of African-American man George Floyd, and attended the Black Trans Lives Matter march in London. In July 2020, she called out L'Oréal for not supporting the black trans community after their treatment towards model Munroe Bergdorf. In 2020, she criticised the media after journalists mistook her for band member Leigh-Anne Pinnock. A journalist had used an image of Pinnock in an article that was focused around Thirlwall. In the interview she revealed that journalists often confuse the pair during interviews and that photographers often shout Pinnock's name at her whenever she is attending events.

In January 2021, Thirlwall won one of The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off specials in the fourth series. In March 2021 she partnered up with UNICEF to learn about the war in Yemen. In July 2021, she signed an open letter to the UK Equalities minister Liz Truss calling for a ban on all forms of LGBT+ conversion therapy. In May 2022, Thirlwall contributed to Sink the Pink's book titled Sink the Pink's Manifesto for Misfits, writing about her experiences with bullying, anorexia and her identity issues because of her mixed race. She also teamed up with a designer to create a limited edition community shirt for a North East football club, with all donations going to charity Cancer Connections. Thirlwall attended the Not Safe To Be Me protest at Downing Street advocating for the ban on transgender conversion therapy in the UK, following the government's reversal on the issue.

In June 2025, Jade called out J. K. Rowling during her performance at Mighty Hoopla for her comments towards the transgender community.