Jewel Shepard was born on 3 January 1958 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York. She is an American writer and actress, best known for her roles in movies such as Party Camp (1987) and Return of the Living Dead (1985).

After a number of small television roles, Jewel broke into film with H.B. Halicki's The Junkman (1982). Roles in over a dozen mainly B movies followed. In 1992 she capitalized on her "B-girl" status by penning Invasion of the B-Girls, a book of interviews with cult actresses such as Kitten Natividad, Linnea Quigley, Yvette Vickers and Mary Woronov, enabling her to establish a writing career. She has worked in that capacity for publications including Premiere, Cosmopolitan and Details.

Her autobiography, If I'm So Famous, How Come Nobody's Ever Heard of Me?, detailing some of the less glamorous aspects of film making and her experiences working in adult entertainment, was published in 1996.