Jacqueline Bisset has been a renowned international film star since the late 1960s. She was first noted as a stunning on-screen beauty, but over time has become known as a fine actress respected by fans and critics alike. Her somewhat French-sounding name has led many to assume that she is from France, but she was brought up in England and had to study to learn French. Her mother was French and was an attorney before being married; her father was a doctor. As a child Jacqueline studied ballet. During her teenage years her father left the family when her mother was diagnosed with disseminating sclerosis; Jacqueline worked as a model to support her ailing mother and eventually her parents divorced, an experience she has said she considered character-strengthening. She took an early interest in film, and her modeling career helped pay for acting lessons.

Roman Polanski's Cul-de-sac (1966). Her career got a boost in 1968 when Mia Farrow unexpectedly dropped out of the shooting of The Detective (1968); Farrow's marriage to co-star Frank Sinatra was on the rocks, and the role was given to Bisset. That same year, she received a Golden Globe nomination for the counterculture drama The Sweet Ride (1968), and played Steve McQueen's girlfriend in the police drama Bullitt (1968), which was a box office smash.

She got a second Golden Globe nomination for the comedy Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978), and acted with Anthony Quinn in The Greek Tycoon (1978), and a third for playing Albert Finney's wife in John Huston's Under the Volcano (1984), but her career cooled down shortly thereafter. She received an Emmy nomination for her role in the miniseries Joan of Arc (1999) (TV). She was also very good in the Biblical epics Jesus (1999) (TV) and In the Beginning (2000) (TV), playing Mary of Nazareth and Sarah, wife of Abraham, respectively. On the big screen, she played Keira Knightley's mother in Tony Scott's action film Domino (2005). In 2006 Jacqueline had a juicy recurring role as a ruthless extortionist on "Nip/Tuck" (2003) during its fourth season. More recently, she gave a delightful performance in the uplifting TV movie An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving (2008) (TV).