Jillian Danford; The auntie to many viewers

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

The first thing you notice about Auntie Jillian is her smile. Seeing her on YouTube and Television does not compare to meeting her in real life, and truly experiencing her warm and welcoming energy. With over 66.9K followers on Instagram (@askauntiejillian), over 12-million views and 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, Jillian Danford has become an international online star. Her new series, Auntie Jillian invites viewers into her home to see how she and her husband exist as Caribbeans living in Canada, and how they have found ways to embrace Canadian culture, while staying true to their Caribbean roots.

It was not too long ago, Auntie Jillian worked as a court registrar with Oshawa’s Superior Court of Justice. It was actually a co-worker of hers that prompted her to look into exploring the media landscape. Always open to new opportunities, Auntie auditioned for The Shopping Channel where she landed a steady gig and started doing pretty well for herself in the entertainment industry. She began to appear on her niece’s YouTube channel, and it seems that once the community caught wind of her, she became an auntie to her viewers and the community.

Auntie Jillian now has her own official YouTube Channel that is dedicated to bringing positive energy, to inspire, to educate and to keep her viewers entertained. She refers to her channel as a Life Style Channel that is oriented to the family. She has topics ranging from: Q & A, travel reviews and adventures, interviews with influencers like Super Model Winnie Harlow, and Jemeni from G98.7, and cooking. “It’s a Real Ting,” Auntie tells me, “There is something for everyone.” I was able to steal a little of Auntie Jillian’s time (which she gave to me graciously) when I went to sit in on a shoot in Pickering last Thursday.

During our time there, Auntie Jillian explained some of her experience in the industry, and how she had decided to go this route with her life. Wearing a bright red jacket, and looking comfortably cute, we stood in the isle of the West Indian grocery store where she was shooting one of her scenes for Season Two of her series Aunt Jillian. During my talk with her, I learned that when she was a teenager, she had scoliosis, and had to have surgery on her back. Of course with surgery comes scars, and she had been left with a reminder of her  pain right down the middle of her back. She recalls a time when she used to hide it, and rethink her outfits ensuring that the scar was hidden. Of course with age, and maturity, she realizes the beauty of the scars, and regards them as battle wounds; a part of her life that she had to overcome. “There is no point in hiding it,” she has said in other interviews prior to the one with Toronto Caribbean Newspaper.

I was able to speak in detail with her what it is like having cameras in her life, watching her every move. “I will be honest,” Auntie tells me, “You don’t see everything, but what you do see is the real thing. I don’t have time for the false persona; people always see through fake, so my family and I keep it 100%. Letting people into our lives does a few things: it gives the Caribbean community something to relate to, and it shows our viewers that we have worked hard for everything that we have. The house has been in the family for 20 years, and I don’t mind people seeing that my house looks just like any other Caribbean household in Canada. We finally renovated the house, but once again, we let our viewers in so they could see our transition.”

Auntie Jillian’s now highly watched YouTube Channel demonstrates how important it is to have black women being seen as influencers. Caribbean women are layered and complex, and at times are misunderstood by their own and others. I asked her if she feels that she created her success in her mind first. I was specific with my questioning, because I have heard from many successful entrepreneurs, actors, and musicians that they had visualized their success before they even had it. Auntie opened up to me, “I have been this animated my whole life. My family tells me that as a child I was loud and very outgoing, so to be honest, I am really not surprised that I ended up in this line of work. When I was younger I would overthink everything, and I didn’t handle rejection very well, but with age comes wisdom, and now I see things different. I think that the universe definitely lays out your path for you; I choose this time to embrace it.”

Being around Auntie Jillian allowed me to see how much she embraces the Auntie role, and views it as a sign of respect and admiration from her growing fans and viewers. Her popularity is growing, so don’t be surprised if you see Auntie popping up in national commercials and making special appearances on popular television shows.

I truly enjoyed hanging out with Auntie Jillian, and it warms my heart to see a Caribbean woman embracing her roles as a matriarch. You can learn more about Auntie Jillian by visiting her on:

• YouTube: @Auntie Jillian
• Instagram: @askauntiejillian
• Auntie Jillian: Fibe TV1
• Facebook: @Ask Auntie Jillian