Michaëlle Jean was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on September 6th 1957. Michaëlle Jean grew up between Port-au Prince and the Haitian town Jacmel.
When Michaëlle Jean was 11 she and her family fled to Canada (Thetford Mines, Quebec) as political refugees. All but her father who was held prisoner and tortured under the regime of François Duvalier.
Michaëlle Jean received a B.A from the University of Montreal in Spanish and Italian languages and a lit degree. She then got her masters in comparative literature and also studied at University of Florence, the University of Perugia, and the Catholic University of Milan.
In 1988 Michaëlle Jean started working for Radio-Canada as a reporter and broadcaster hosting such shows as Le Point, Actuel and Réseau de l'information.
In 1999 Michaëlle Jean started working for CBC Newsworld and hosted two shows that featured documentary films The Passionate Eye and Rough Cuts and in 2004 she had her own tv show Michaëlle.
In 2005 Michaëlle Jean was appointed Governor General of Canada. Michaëlle Jean is the first Black Canadian to hold the post as well as being the first to hold the post that wasn't born in Canada and the first of Caribbean descent.
Michaëlle Jean is married to filmmaker Jean-Daniel Lafond and the couple have an adopted daughter Marie-Éden (who was born in Jacmel, Haiti)
