Born in Maryland, Jannette moved to Los Angeles where she started intensive training as an actress after graduating with honors from the film program at Emerson College. Being dissatisfied with the available roles for women, Jannette decided to put her filmmaking skills to good use. She teamed up with writing partner and fellow actress Alyssa Carpenter, and the girls' first screenplay "Narcissa" was a 2012 Nicholl Fellowship quarter-finalist. This led to a partnership with BCDF Pictures to produce their second script, "Mahjong and the West," which premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival, October 2014.