Jane Hitchcock was born in 1953 in Birmingham, Alabama, to Ray and Amelia Hitchcock, their fourth child, and grew up with three older brothers. Her father, a farmer, worked at the local electric company after his crops were devastated by the beetle. Jane studied ballet as a child, and her talent earned her a scholarship to train at the School of Balanchine, affiliated with the New York City Ballet. She made her first airplane trip to New York City, where she was soon recognized and photographed by the media. Wilhelmina, a renowned Vogue model of the 1960s, signed Jane as her fifth model when she started her new agency, making Jane her protégée and mentor.
Jane's dance training gave her a natural ability, posture, and grace, which translated well to fashion photography. She regularly appeared in top fashion magazines, including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, and Glamour. Her fame spread, and she was featured in Look and Life magazines. At just 15, she did the French Collections for Vogue and Elle, and at 16, she created a book on modeling. She then appeared in television commercials and married at 19, giving birth to her daughter Serena the same year.
In the early 1970s, Columbia studio offered Jane a contract, but she declined, refusing to act in exploitative films. She continued modeling and became friends with Cybill Shepherd after working together on an assignment. Cybill went on to become a successful actress but faced a public relations crisis when director Peter Bogdanovich left his wife for her. Columbia studio refused to cast Cybill in Bogdanovich's film Nickelodeon (1976),which she had been offered, and instead recommended Jane for the role. Jane accepted the offer and worked alongside Burt Reynolds and Ryan O'Neal in the period film. Although she received mixed reviews, the film became a flop, and she was disappointed, only acting in one more project before returning to her modeling career.
In the early 1990s, Jane turned 40 and became an important face for cosmetic companies, which began to feature "ageless beauties" in their advertisements. In 1993, she modeled with her then-22-year-old daughter Serena in an international campaign for Ferretti Jeans. She continued to land modeling jobs with Calvin Klein, Maybelline, and Vichy. In 2016, at 63, Jane moved to Australia and continues to model to this day.
