Jean Harris nació el 27 de abril de 1923 en Chicago, Illinois, Estados Unidos. Estuvo casada con James Scholes Harris. Murió el 23 de diciembre de 2012 en New Haven, Connecticut, Estados Unidos.
In Westchester, I always felt I was a woman in a pretty dress that went to dinner parties with Dr. Tarnower. In Washington, I was a woman in a pretty dress and a headmistress. I wasn't sure who I was, and it didn't seem to matter.