diff --git a/js/src/base-component.js b/js/src/base-component.js
index 62aa4adf17..ea0ad6c246 100644
--- a/js/src/base-component.js
+++ b/js/src/base-component.js
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class BaseComponent {
   /** Static */
 
   static getInstance(element) {
-    return Data.get(element, this.DATA_KEY)
+    return Data.get(getElement(element), this.DATA_KEY)
   }
 
   static getOrCreateInstance(element, config = {}) {
diff --git a/js/tests/unit/base-component.spec.js b/js/tests/unit/base-component.spec.js
index 1000f2841d..b8ec83f122 100644
--- a/js/tests/unit/base-component.spec.js
+++ b/js/tests/unit/base-component.spec.js
@@ -104,6 +104,20 @@ describe('Base Component', () => {
         expect(DummyClass.getInstance(element)).toBeInstanceOf(DummyClass)
       })
 
+      it('should accept element, either passed as a CSS selector, jQuery element, or DOM element', () => {
+        createInstance()
+
+        expect(DummyClass.getInstance('#foo')).toEqual(instance)
+        expect(DummyClass.getInstance(element)).toEqual(instance)
+
+        const fakejQueryObject = {
+          0: element,
+          jquery: 'foo'
+        }
+
+        expect(DummyClass.getInstance(fakejQueryObject)).toEqual(instance)
+      })
+
       it('should return null when there is no instance', () => {
         fixtureEl.innerHTML = '<div></div>'