Jon Jacobs was born in Derbyshire, England, but grew up in London. His mother, Jackie White, was Miss United Kingdom in 1961; his father, Adrian Jacobs, was a notorious financier of the '60s. He dropped out of school at the age of 10 to devote himself entirely to studying acting at drama school. Among his teenage friends were star Charlotte Lewis ("The Golden Child" (1986)) and new wave pop star Annabella of Bow Wow Wow.

In 1981 he was expelled from the famous British drama school Sylvia Young. In 1986 he began making his own films in order to act in them, starting with "Salette," followed by "Metropolis Apocalypse" and "Lunar Sunday." In 1987 "Metropolis Apocalypse" was an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival. In 1988 In 1991 he moved to Los Angeles and became prolific in the indie underground.