As per the game's campaign designer David Fried, in an early draft she was supposed to die and be raised as a banshee, but this plot element was scrapped and moved over to the story of Sylvanas Windrunner.

Born into nobility, Jaina is the daughter of Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, lord of the island nation of Kul Tiras.

After persistent badgering, Jaina was accepted as the apprentice of the Kirin Tor's leader Archmage Antonidas, becoming one of the few female wizards at the time.

During her early adulthood, Jaina struggled to prevent the spreading of a mysterious plague of undeath that would initiate the Third War and send her longtime friend and romantic interest, Prince Arthas Menethil, down a path of unmitigated darkness.

After the plague of Lordaeron and destruction of Dalaran during the events of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Jaina rallied as many survivors she could and led them west across the great sea, eventually arriving on Kalimdor and founding the city of Theramore.

As the war escalated, Jaina gained the trust of Thrall, the warchief of the reformed Horde, and became a key player in uniting the races of Azeroth to work together and stop the Burning Legion.

Accepting the role, Jaina pledged to maintain the rebuilt Dalaran's position of neutrality between the Horde and Alliance despite the events of Theramore.

Her "heroic abilities" allows players to summon a water elemental or cast a freezing ring that deals damage and roots opponents.

[10][11] Jaina also appears in the Warcraft spinoff card game Hearthstone, where she is a playable hero and represents the Mage class.

Later games have made questionable choices regarding her character, but in her Warcraft III incarnation, she was someone any young girl could look up to: brilliant, brave, tolerant, and kind.

"[21] In 2015, Vietnamese newspaper Thanh Niên ranked the "strong and smart" Jaina as the 25th sexiest female video game character.