Jarboe was born in Mississippi and raised in the Southern United States, primarily in New Orleans and Atlanta, in a Roman Catholic family.

[4][5] Her father was a police detective who worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),[6] and whom she has described as "the ultimate law-enforcement man".

"[8] As a child, Jarboe learned to play a Hammond organ,[9] and studied opera at the insistence of her father, who hoped for her to have a career as a singer.

[7] She came into contact with Michael Gira and attended the band's practice sessions before, after several auditions, joining as a vocalist and keyboardist and debuting on Greed (1986).

[10]Between 1985 and 1997, she worked as a vocalist and keyboardist in the band, appearing on albums including Children of God (1987), The Burning World (1989), and Soundtracks for the Blind (1996).

Jarboe continued her solo career, releasing various experimental records (many of which she has self-released and distributed over the internet)[11] including Sacrificial Cake (1995) and Anhedoniac (1998).