Jean-Michel is the son of famous French composer Maurice Jarre, and he studied music from his childhood. In 1968 he joined Groupe de Recherches Musicales (Music Research Group) directed by Pierre Schaeffer, where he began to write electronic music. In 1970 he released the singles La cage and Erosmachine, and in 1972 - his debut album Deserted Palace.

Also in the early 70s Jarre took part in several band constellations and aliases, like Triangle, the Pop Corn Orchestra (aka Jammie Jefferson and the Pop Corn Orchestra) and as Samuel Hobo.

Meeting Francis Dreyfus played an important role in Jean-Michel's biography. He produced Jarre's gold-awarded Oxygene (1976), that took Grand Prix Du Disque award from the Charles Cross Academy. The music of Oxygène sounds very relaxing and cosmic-like. Following albums Equinoxe (1978) and Les chants magnétiques (1981) gave Jarre the title of one of the best electronic composers and performers from France. Jarre is very influential in both new age and ambient.

Most of Jean-Michel's concerts are on the large side using cityscapes as their backdrops (Rendez-vous Houston, Destination Docklands, La Defence in Paris). He was included in the Guinness Book of Records for his show at Place de la Concorde in Paris on July 14, 1979 (Bastille Day), which was visited by more than one million people. Another Guinness record is release of his album Music for Supermarkets - only a single copy was ever pressed.

In 1978 Jean-Michel married English actress Charlotte Rampling. They had one child named David, and divorced in 1998. On May 12, 2005 Jean-Michel married the French actress Anne Parillaud.