Jo Ann Kaplan was born in New York City and had a fine art training at Hunter College, City University of New York (BFA, MFA). She began making films in 1969. She has been living and working in the UK since 1974, and has directed films and TV programmes across a broad range of subjects and formats, including a documentary about Maya Deren and an arts programme written by Angela Carter. Editing work includes animation, dance and experimental films, as well as documentaries and arts programmes. She draws and paints on Sundays.

She is currently working on a long-term project which involves self-portraiture in transparent watercolour and time-lapse filming on mini-DV, and is revising a dance film with Dana Caspersen of the Forsythe Company.

She teaches film editing at The National Film and Television School, The Royal College of Art, Goldsmiths College Department of Media and Communications, and other art and media colleges in the UK.