Valérie Jouve, born in Saint Etienne in 1964, studied ethnology at the University of Lyon/Bron before turning her attention to photography at the end of the 1980s. She graduated from the National School for Photography in Arles, France, in 1990, and since then has shown her photographic work in international group and solo exhibitions. Since 2003 she has become increasingly involved in film projects. Jouve lives and works in Paris.