Early life

When he was nine, his family moved to Belgium for two years.
Jenks attended Hendrick Hudson High School

Hendrick Hudson High School

Hendrick Hudson High School, nicknamed Hen Hud, is a public high school in Montrose, New York. It draws its students from the neighboring towns of Verplanck, Buchanan, Cortlandt Manor, Montrose, Crugers, the village of Croton-on-Hudson, and the city of Peekskill.There are approximately 900 students...

 in Montrose, New York. When Jenks was 16 he founded the Hendrick Hudson Film Festival, featuring James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...

 as its keynote speaker. The festival is now in its 8th year.

His father is Bruce Jenks

Bruce Jenks

Bruce Frederick Edward Jenks OBE has served as director of the Bureau for Resources and Strategic Partnerships of the United Nations Development Programme since 1995.Jenks holds a Ph.D...

, Assistant Secretary General for the United Nations. His mother is Nancy Piper Jenks, a family nurse practitioner who is site director in internal medicine at Hudson River HealthCare in Peekskill, NY. His brother Matt Jenks, a senior at Elon University

Elon University

Elon University is a private liberal arts university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Formerly known as Elon College, it became Elon University on June 1, 2001. The campus is a botanical garden and features oak trees, brick sidewalks, fountains, and lakes...

 in North Carolina.

Andrew Jenks, Room 335

At 19 years old, Jenks moved into an assisted living facility, starring, directing, and producing the feature film Andrew Jenks, Room 335. While a sophomore at New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

, HBO bought the rights to the film and released the documentary on January 15, 2008. The film premiered in Australia and Europe. The film received mostly positive reviews, Variety calling it 'a lovely and genuine account of generational understanding'.

The Zen of Bobby V

When he was 21 years old, ESPN Films financed Andrew's second film, The Zen of Bobby V. The film received good reviews after premiering at the TriBeca Film Festival.

Jenks said of the pitch process 'It was me and my two friends - 21 years old, telling ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

, the 'Worldwide Leader in Sports' that this was a story that had to be told -that it was their duty. I think we left every meeting unsure if we were acting our age, or just showcasing our passion'.

Acclaim as a young director

At the International Documentary Film Festival at Amsterdam, Jenks was widely acclaimed as one of the next great American filmmakers.

In a review for Jenks' first film, The New York Post said "It's almost impossible to believe that a kid could produce a documentary like this. It's a gorgeous, hilarious, sad, wonderful, unblinking look at the joy of life - even at the end of it...Bravo Andrew Jenks. Brilliant."

At the Phoenix Film Festival in 2006 Jenks said of his documentary celebrity, "When you have characters like Bill and Tammy it's hard for your first film not to be a hit. I am lucky."

World of Jenks

In January 2010, MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 signed Jenks to do a documentary-series titled World of Jenks

World of Jenks

World of Jenks is a documentary series starring Andrew Jenks. The series premiered on September 13, 2010 on MTV following 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. The show showcases the lives of inspirational young people from various locations of the United States...

. Jenks claimed his inspiration behind World of Jenks was that "I [Andrew] also want to tell the stories of my generation. I want to be a filmmaker that is able to capture what my generation thinks, how they act and what they ultimately stand for." In each episode, Andrew will move in with a new stranger to experience a week in their life, from random people, such as a homeless woman, a man with autism, a rapper, MMA fighter, a professional poker player, an NFL cheerleader, a female-fronted band, etc. The series premiered September 12, 2010 on MTV. Kid Cudi

Kid Cudi

Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi , better known by his stage name Kid Cudi , sometimes stylized KiD CuDi, is an American rapper, singer and actor. He first gained major attention after the release of his debut mixtape A Kid Named Cudi. In 2009, his single "Day 'n' Nite" reached the top five of the...

allowed this show to use his song 'Soundtrack 2 My Life' as its theme song.

Activism

Jenks has teamed up with DKMS and DoSomething to promote teens and college students to join the bone marrow donor registry. He will be participating in college speaking tours where he will try to raise awareness and involvement. He also did a PSA for Do Something with a five year old leukemia patient about the importance of "getting swabbed".