Jena Malone was born on November 21, 1984 in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, where she lived until she was ten. She loved Lake Tahoe, and describes it as: "Lake Tahoe is gorgeous... I remember climbing trees and scavenging in the forest singing to myself... when I have children I'm going to raise them there". She credits her mom's own acting experience in community theater in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, as a major influence. "I remember being amazed at how she made me feel when I was watching her," she recalls. "It was amazing to think that you can do that to someone". She moved from there to Las Vegas, where she resided for six months - she "absolutely hated it!".

From there, Jena persuaded her mother to move to L.A. After doing various commercials and music videos, Malone made her feature debut at the Cannes Film Festival in Showtime's "Bastard Out of Carolina," which was directed by Anjelica Huston and based on the bestselling book by Dorothy Allison. She went on to play major roles in other movies including Contact, Stepmom, and For Love of the Game.

After a year in L.A., Jena moved to New York, and is now attending the Professional Children's School in New York City after years of being taught at home. "I asked my friends, "What do I do when I switch classes? I've never [done that]. " Luckily, everythig worked out. "School is not really as hard as I thought it would be, except for French." Describing the change, she told React Magazine that "Before, I was kind of disconnected because I was working and doing home school," She says."Now I am a teenager. I go to school, see my friends, spend weekends with them, I feel more stable. In New York, you feel like you're living a part of history. In L.A , you can't sink your teeth into anything."

In January 2000, Jena won a lawsuit against her mother whom she accused of "squandering" money from her bank accounts and mismanaging her career (charging mismanagement of her earnings, failure to pay taxes, and seeking emancipation). She has now attained emancipation from her mother who is now barred from interfering with Jena's career and earnings.