Miller discovered at the age of 17 that he was adopted, and that he was born to a mother of Puerto Rican descent and a black father of unspecified heritage.
[1] Before creating the character of Joanne, Miller began starring in pornographic videos on "cam sites" at the age of 18, under the pseudonym "Playboi Branden".
Miller uploaded videos to YouTube of his character "Miss Prada", who would often proclaim her infatuation for singer Chris Brown and make sexual advances towards various men.
[5][6] In August 2016, Miller joined the entertainment network Super Deluxe to begin creating a series of videos starring Joanne the Scammer.
Joanne the Scammer has received attention from various notable figures such as Selena Gomez,[5] Katy Perry,[5] Solange Knowles,[12] Teyana Taylor,[13][14] Ariana Grande,[15] Amber Rose,[3] Rowan Blanchard,[4] Sky Ferreira, Chelsea Peretti,[1] and others.
[18][19] The Fader describes Joanne as "a fiercely independent hot mess who goes to obscene, hilarious lengths to look out for herself" and "a byproduct of how frightening and lonely the world can feel".
[15] Paper Magazine calls Joanne "a gorgeously exaggerated meshing of meme culture and the darkness of the deep web and Craigslist with elements of gender fluidity, hip-hop and the ball scene tossed in".