Thirlwall was born and raised in the Laygate area of South Shields, Tyne and Wear, north-east of England, to parents Norma Badwi and James Thirlwall and has an older brother named Karl. In 2022, she signed a solo record deal with RCA Records. In 2021, she was awarded the Gay Times Honour for Allyship, in recognition for her work towards equality for the LGBTQ+ community. Thirlwall is known for her advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and her involvement with charity work. In April 2019, she signed as a songwriter with Sony/ATV Music, and has co-written songs for other artists including Britney Spears, Iggy Azalea, Billy Porter, Twice, and Nayeon. In addition to her solo work, she has contributed songs to Little Mix albums since the beginning including co-writing two UK number ones ' Wings' and ' Shout Out to My Ex'. The group have since released six studio albums and achieved five number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart. Together with Little Mix they became the first group to win the British version of The X Factor. The group have sold over 60 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling girl groups.

She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Little Mix. Jade Amelia Thirlwall (born 26 December 1992) is an English singer-songwriter.