Her paternal grandfather, originally from Creuse, acquired the Hôtel du Beaujolais in Vichy, which Josette's parents operated.

Around 1919, Josette's family moved to Nice to manage two hotels, the Scribe and the Prince de Galles.

[2] In 1925, the painter was invited by her sister Jeanne, then a student at the Arts décoratifs in Nice, to paint by the sea where the teacher, Jean Denisse, was enthusiastic about Josette's sketches.

[2] Josette took classes at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, then in 1928 joined the Society of Sacred Works, directed by the painters Maurice Denis and George Desvallières.

[2] Josette and André, both socialist activists, were very involved in the cultural life of their time, and befriended painters and writers and formed solid friendships that included: Hermine David, Louise Hervieu, Marcel Arland, Jean Follain, Athanase Apartis, Marcel Gromaire, Édouard Goerg, Maurice Mazo, Charles Vildrac and Mela Muter, some of whom had portraits painted by her.

[1] Josette Bournet's work includes many portraits of her relatives and friends, including many artists of her time, in particular Athanase Apartis, Luc Benoist, Emilie Charmy, Monique Desvallières, Jean Follain, Mateo Hernández, Jeannine Guillou (wife of Nicolas de Staël), Pierre Isorni, Mela Muter, André Salmon, Rossane Timotheeff-Lurçat and Charles Vildrac.