Name: Jazlyn Guerra
Age: 11
Hometown: Brooklyn and Colón, Panama
Now Lives: In an apartment in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn with her mother, father and four siblings.
Claim to Fame: Ms. Guerra, who is known to her fans as Jazzy, is a self-styled “kid reporter” who has scored interviews with celebrities including Alicia Keys, Tom Holland and Denzel Washington. Her spunky on-the-street interviews are posted on her “Jazzys World TV” social media channels, which include Instagram (about 76,700 followers), TikTok (about 114,500) and YouTube (about 24,000). She once asked the soccer player David Beckham “the most hilarious thing” he’s done as a father (dressing up as the Easter bunny for his children) and the basketball player Carmelo Anthony his “biggest pet peeve” (being woken up while sleeping). “I think that it’s really cool how they take time out of their busy schedule and out of their busy day just to talk to an 11-year-old little kid,” she said.
Big Break: When she was 9, her father, Luis De Hoyos, a mental health therapist, took her to various meet and greets to get autographs from athletes. She would ask them questions about their careers and struck up an easy rapport. She and her father decided to start a YouTube show, with her father filming and editing the videos. Her first interview was Gregg Popovich, the head coach for the San Antonio Spurs, before their game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. She declined to share how she snags her subjects (“It’s my secret recipe”) but hinted that it involved waiting for hours, including early mornings before school.
Latest Project: In November, Ms. Guerra interviewed Jay-Z outside his Manhattan office for about two minutes and asked him what it takes to be successful. “Believe in yourself, even before anyone else believes in you,” Jay-Z said, adding: “You got to have ultimate confidence, like you do. You’re very confident.” The video garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and Instagram and was shared widely on Twitter. “It helped catapult her career and what she’s doing,” Mr. De Hoyos said. “She’s really, really grateful.”
Next Thing: Ms. Guerra will be a presenter for Nike Playlist for Kids, a YouTube series where children and professional athletes play active games and sports.
Down Time: Ms. Guerra is a sixth-grader at a Brooklyn public school, and some of her former teachers have commented on her videos. “Jazzy told me her classmates are recognizing her in school,” Mr. De Hoyos said, adding that she was recently invited to sit with the 7th and 8th graders at lunch. She also likes to play video games, including Madden NFL and Fortnite, and hang out with friends. She has recently become a fan of watching boxing and is starting to train as well. “I’m learning more about the sport,” she said. “I think I want to interview more boxers in the future, just to get some tips.”
