Jonathan Van Ness net worth: Inside 'Queer Eye' star's heroic struggle with drug abuse

Jonathan Van Ness is proof that no matter how dark life gets, you can always work towards being the best version of yourself
UPDATED DEC 31, 2021
Jonathan Van Ness on 'Queer Eye' (Instagram/jvn)
Jonathan Van Ness on 'Queer Eye' (Instagram/jvn)

When it comes to 'Queer Eye', one thing is for certain, Jonathan Van Ness adds the 'fab' to Fab Five. He is known for being his hilariously charming self and always has the participants and audience in splits with his humor and bright personality. But there is certainly more to him than meets the eye.

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Who is Jonathan Van Ness?

Jonathan McDonald Van Ness is a hairdresser, podcast host, activist, actor, author, and television personality. Known as JVN, he was born March 28, 1987, in Quincy, Illinois. His family owns the broadcast and newspaper conglomerate Quincy Media. He has been openly gay all his life, and in late 2010, he came out as gender non-conforming and non-binary. He has opened up about the abuse he faced at the hands of an older boy at church when he was younger, which led to 'self-destructive behaviors' as he described it.

While studying at the University of Arizona he exhausted his monthly allowance on cocaine. He was too embarrassed to turn to his parents for help, so he resorted to sex work. This let to a sex and drug addiction which caused him to lose his cheerleading scholarship. He later dropped out and decided to pursue hairstyling. He trained at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis and worked in Arizona for 5 years, before moving to Los Angeles, California.



 

His net worth

As reported by Celebrity Networth, Van Ness' net worth is currently $5million. Erin Gibson of Funny or Die asked him to perform a recap of 'Game of Thrones' episode for Funny or Die. This later became 'Gay of Thrones', which earned Van Ness a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series in 2018. He is also an author, having written books such as 'Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love' and a picture book titled 'Peanut goes for the Gold'. He also has his own line of hair care products under the name JVN. 

With regard to his assets, Van Ness previously stayed in New York, until he moved for the filming of Season 6 of 'Queer Eye'. Here, he fell in love with Austin and soon decided to move to the South.

“I didn’t expect to fall in love with Austin as much when we came here for shooting,” he said, while talking to Self.Com. “And then we came, and everything shut down. I had my four cats and was on this lake at an Airbnb, and I was like, Do I love Austin? Is this a liberal bastion in Texas? And it kind of is. I started exploring and was like, Oh, my God, I want to move here. Then I found a house, and I loved it.” he added.



 

'Queer Eye' Season 6 premieres on December 31, 2021, on Netflix.

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