Jessica Kellgren-Fozard
If you haven't heard of Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, you're missing out!
I admit that my list of favorite YouTubers is more than a little bit biased: it includes a fellow redheaded, dog loving, red lipstick wearing, disabled, queer, Quaker woman!
Jessica is a British YouTuber based in Brighton, England. She is probably best known for her videos on disability, queerness, and vintage fashion. She has multiple disabilities, including: Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), post orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy (HNPP), and is deaf as a result. Her YouTube channel largely raises awareness about her disabilities, but also disabilities in general and has earned her several awards and recognitions for her work - including an honorary PhD from the University of Worcester!
She has degrees in film and screen studies, and has several videos on the portrayals of disabled people in films and TV - these got her nominated by students for an honorary PhD.
She's been married to Claudia Kellgren-Fozard since 2016 and they welcomed their son, Rupert, in June of 2021! Claudia and Jessica met online in 2014 and said they had an instant connection and moved in together just after a month! They've talked about their love story and how Claudia learned and adapted to Jessica's disabilities and what they learned along the way. Claudia was a dentist, but she recently stepped away from dentistry to focus on family and working full-time with Jessica on the YouTube channel.
She's also very stylish and loves vintage fashion that she displays in videos alongside her disability-centric content. Additionally, she's a Quaker as well and has discussed some of the core beliefs of the religion. She recently had a son, with her wife so now she makes videos about her Montessori parenting style and parenting as a disabled mother. She's got a lot of diverse topics for her content and that in itself is very beneficial for the representation of disabled people as multifaceted individuals.
If you're interested in: disabilities, film and TV, vintage fashion, LGBTQ+, Montessori parenting, or any of the many topics she discusses, I cannot recommend her enough! Her storytelling is both informative and entertaining and I've learned so much!
