Tall, slim, and leggy blonde looker Jean Jennings was born Cynthia Jean Jackson on February 13, 1957 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She was the daughter of Charles Lamar Jackson and Jean Denovan Jennings (she used her mother's maiden name for her porn pseudonym).

Jean was a cheerleader in grade school. Jennings ran away from home when she was still a teenager and became involved in the adult entertainment industry after she was discovered by photographer Len Camp. Jean was only 16 when she did her first explicit hardcore movie.