Jo Barry was born in Kent, England. She studied art at the Ravensbourne College of Art and Design and subsequently taught at the Byam Shaw School of Art. Since 1981, she has concentrated full time on her own work, with a focus on etching and aquatint.

Barry is an elected member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers and ranks as one of the most respected and innovative living etchers. Her studio is located in the New Forest, Ringwood, Hampshire, where she lives with her husband and son, as well as with horses, sheep, cocker spaniels, chickens, ducks, and doves. Her environment provides inspiration for her work, which depicts nature in all its moods.

Jo Barry's work is on view in galleries throughout the UK and at the Prints and the Potter Gallery in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she has been represented for over thirty years.