Jo King was born in Buckinghamshire, the son of professional painters. After graduating in 1981 from Dartington College of Arts with a BA in Theatre, he moved to the Netherlands and worked as a cabaret entertainer. Returning to the UK in 1989, he commenced an eight-year period of working for the mask and puppet company Horse & Bamboo, directed by painter Bob Frith. In 1998 King began attending life drawing sessions run by Bohuslav Barlow in Todmorten, Lancashire. Since that time the human form has always been the dominant subject of his work.

Subsequently Jo King moved to Spain, and this was followed by eight years in the Dutch town of Zaltbommel.

In 2018 he returned to the UK, where he now has a studio in the village of Constantine, near Falmouth.