Zoe Jackson MBE

Multi-award-winning entrepreneur, Zoe Jackson MBE set up the Living the Dream Performing Arts Company at the age of 16 in 2006 to inspire young people and to subsidise her own performing arts education.

Zoe started Living the Dream with a few hundred pounds of sponsorship from family and friends and went on to attract local arts funding to put on shows featuring young people whilst she was still at school.

She managed Living the Dream whilst studying for a full-time BA Honours degree in Dance and Performing Arts at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

Since graduating, Zoe has grown Living the Dream to include a school of performing arts, a professional dance company, a talent agency and a charity, the Dream Foundation.

She is passionate about championing young talent, creating access to arts education, entertaining audiences and encouraging young people to live their dreams.

Her strength as a leader and as a role model is in her passion for inspiring and empowering people and has led her to be a leading figure in performing arts in the UK.

Zoe Jackson has won a number of awards for her social entrepreneurism across the arts and business.

In June 2015, Zoe was honoured  in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List with an award of the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for services to young entrepreneurs and  the  performing arts.

In 2015 Zoe also received the first ‘Queen’s Young Leaders Award’, which recognised 60 young people across the Commonwealth who were making a difference in their communities.

Zoe has received several other awards including the Women of the Future in the Arts, Media and Culture award with Shell

Listed in Elle Magazine’s “Top 100 Inspiring Women” alongside Michelle Obama and Beyoncé and she won the Creative Industries Entrepreneur of the Year with the Great British Entrepreneurs.

Sir Richard Branson has supported and endorsed Zoe after she was selected to speak with him on behalf of young entrepreneurs in the UK.

She worked with Sir Richard and Virgin to campaign for the Government’s Start Up Loans scheme and was instrumental in influencing Government policy.

Zoe Jackson MBE

Zoe is regularly featured in local and national media with her significant awards, achievements and captivating story.

She has been called on by Government, press and the education sector to speak on behalf of young people, entrepreneurs.

Discuss education, entertainment and the arts including BBC, CNBC, Sky, ITV and several radio stations.

Zoe was selected to be on the Great British Menu on BBC2 as she received an award from The Queen and this series celebrated those honoured by Her Majesty to celebrate her birthday.

Queen’s Young Leaders Award – BBC News

In 2015, Zoe Jackson won the first Queen’s Young Leaders award which recognized 60 young people across the Commonwealth transforming the lives of others in their local communities.

TV Documentary Feature

Zoe has filmed for a new series called ‘Youngtrapreneurs’ with NXG Media which follows the lives of 6 young entrepreneurs.

Zoe Jackson MBE

Highlights of Press

Zoe Jackson MBE and Living the Dream have been featured in The Independent on Sunday, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Evening Standard, Forbes Magazine, The Observer, The Metro, Elle Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine and The Huffington Post.

Listed in ‘Elle Magazine’sTop 100 Inspiring Women’

She appears on Elle magazine’s ‘Top 100 inspiring women’ list – alongside Michelle Obama, Victoria Beckham, Oprah Winfrey, Adele and JK Rowling.

Other names featured include Annie Lennox, Kelly Holmes, Dolly Parton, Hillary Clinton and Angelina Jolie.

Forbes interview

Fearlessness, Passion And Generosity: A Recipe For The ‘Dream’ Startup

Huffington Post Interview

Young Entrepreneur of The Week: Zoe Jackson, Performing Arts CompanyFounder and Richard Branson’s Inspiration

Nationwide Campaign for BTEC

In 2016 Zoe Jackson MBE became an ambassador for the BTEC campaign ‘I Choose BTEC’ with Pearson alongside Peter Jones CBE and was featured in a highly successful advertising campaign on London buses and in schools and colleges throughout the UK.