Born in Liege, Belgium, Jacqueline Poncelet has a background in ceramics, having studied at Wolverhampton College of Art and the Royal College of Art from 1966 until 1972.

She is well-known for her early work in bone china, and for her more sculptural works in ceramics after 1980. From the mid 80s she extended her practice to include painting, sculpture, installation and public art commissions. Poncelet was the recipient of a British Council Arts Fellowship in 1978, which enabled her to travel extensively in the USA. She has been an influential teacher and lecturer worldwide. In 2000 she was a curator of the British Art Show. She is represented in important public collections throughout the world, including London's Tate, Victoria and Albert Museum, the Stedeljk Museum in Amsterdam and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

In 2009 she was commissioned by Art on the Underground to make a permanent work for Edgware Road Tube station; Wrapper was completed in 2012. In 2013 she was commissioned by Tate Enterprises to work with Melin Tregwynt in Pembrokeshire to produce woven textiles, which are now available at Tate Britain and Modern shops. Poncelet lives and works in London and the South Wales Valleys.