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The Daily Dish The Real Housewives of New York City

These Photos of a Young Jenna Lyons Take You Inside Her Life Before Fashion Fame

We unearthed throwback photos of the RHONY cast member as a young kid.

By Jocelyn Vena

These days, Jenna Lyons is known as a fashion industry tour de force and mogul — as well as a cast member on The Real Housewives of New York City. But long before she was a household name, Jenna was just a young kid. And, a scroll through her Instagram feed gives you a glimpse at her younger life, as well as a peek at her family, including her mom and brother.

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She's posted several old photos from her childhood that are a throwback to Jenna's life from back in the day and, yes, we're feeling the nostalgia.

See photos of Jenna Lyons and her brother when they were kids

In 2023, Jenna posted a tribute to her brother, Spencer, alongside adorable photos of them as kids. "I am so lucky to have you - someone who knows me and won’t let me hide - or lie - or publicly pretend to be somebody else- I love you Spencer," she shared at the time. "You’re the best person I know [heart emojis] besides me."

Later that same year, she posted another tribute to her sibling timed to his birthday, writing, "Happy Birthday to my baby brother. I love you to the moon and back."

Jenna Lyons posts a photo as a young child with her mom

Jenna has also paid tribute to her mom on social media and has been open about how important of a person her mom, Barbara, has been in her life. 

Jenna shared that same photo on a different date to Instagram, where she opened up about her mom as well as her own experience with motherhood raising her teen son.

"Like ... the hardest job on the planet. And literally the best love in the universe. Thank you mom. I know I made it hard," she said, adding to her own kid, "Beckett - at the risk of embarrassing you - you are the BEST THING EVER."

In fact, Jenna revealed how integral her mom has been in helping her in her health journey and challenges. Jenna has incontinentia pigmenti, a genetic disorder that affects her hair, skin, and teeth.

"And thank you to my mama - for the first leg of the process with little to no help from my father, the insurance company, science and doctors," she shared on Instagram in the caption alongside the photo above.

Where did Jenna Lyons grow up?

According to an online bio about her life, Jenna spent part of her childhood in Boston (where she was born) before her family moved to Palos Verdes, California. She later moved to New York City for college where she attended Parsons’ BFA Fashion Design program after a stint in Los Angeles where she attended the Otis College of Art and Design. Of course these days, her life is in NYC.

What is Jenna Lyons' real name?

Jenna's birth name is Judith Agar Lyons. The genesis of the name Jenna actually has a lot to do with her brother, as she revealed on RHONY in Season 14: “My name is not my real name. My name is Judith. My brother used to call me geni-geni-geni-talia.”

Jenna Lyons wearing a white button up top in front of a grey backdrop

Since then, Jenna has taken the fashion industry and RHONY by storm. In fact, you can hear more about Jenna's upcoming RHONY Season 15 reunion look (spoiler: it's a Balenciaga robe) here.

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