Jo Whiley was born in Northampton. After studying in Brighton and dabbling on BBC Radio Sussex's new music show, Jo's first broadcasting job proper was as a presenter for WPFM, Radio 4's youth culture and music show. 

Jo then moved over into TV, initially on satellite, then to Channel 4 as band booker for 'The Word', giving Britain its first television taste of bands such as Nirvana and Rage Against The Machine.

Jo joined Radio 1 in the Spring of 1993 and in September she became permanent co-presenter of The Evening Session with Steve Lamacq. With Steve she regularly fronted live music events including the annual Sound City festival, Glastonbury and Phoenix. 

In February 1997, Jo took up residency in the daytime, bringing her musical knowledge to a wider audience with The Lunchtime Social. Live guests and sessions are a regular feature of the show and have included pretty much every big name in music. Jo also conducts in-depth interviews with the biggest stars including Madonna. 

Jo has co-presented coverage of the Glastonbury Festival with John Peel for both Radio 1, Channel 4 and BBC-TV and in April 1998, Jo began presenting her own late night music/chat show on Channel 4. Soon after, at the beginning of May, her talents were acknowledged when she was crowned DJ of the Year at the Sony Radio Awards. Jo has presented a new version of her Channel 4 show called 'The Cut' with Jo Whiley. She also fronts the BBC TV coverage of the Mercury Awards. 

In April 2011, Whiley's weekend show on Radio 1 went to Huw Stephens when she began her Monday to Wednesday show on Radio 2. Jo now gets more time to showcase her passion for music, including live guests and performances from the cream of the music world.