Born Marguerite Perrinot in Paris, France to an aristocratic father and a former flower girl, she was pushed by her mother into showbusiness. At age five, little Marguerite began performing on stage at the Théâtre du Châtelet. As a teenager, she was given voice and music lessons and at age eighteen appeared in an elaborate Mistinguett production at the Casino de Paris.

In 1928 she helped organize the first female branch of the Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne (JOC), a Roman Catholic apostolic organization for young people. Jeanne Aubert served as the first president of the JOCF of France.

Using the stage name Jane Aubert, in 1929, she made her motion picture debut in the silent film, "La Possession." Her film was seen by Nelson Morris of Chicago, Illinois a multi-millionaire whose family had made their fortune in meatpacking and who at the time was overseeing a meat processing operation in France. Morris used his connections to get to meet her and the two became involved. Eventually they moved to the United States and married but the marriage did not last. In May of 1939, Nelson Morris survived the Hindenburg disaster.

Following her divorce Jeanne Aubert began working in Broadway musical comedies as well as making an appearance in the 1934 East Coast film production "The Gem Of The Ocean". In 1935, she returned to her native France where she acted in several films during the ensuing two years. In 1937, she went back on the Paris stage, performing in musical varieties with the celebrated songstress Fréhel. She was part of a number of other shows in London and other cities throughout Europe. Although never a headline star, for the next thirty years her career was busy with numerous recordings, film and stage performances, and eventually roles on television.