Jill Damatac was born in Manila, Philippines, in 1983, during the final years of the Marcos regime. At the age of 9, she and her family immigrated to the US, living in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York (again, as an adult) as an undocumented immigrant for 22 years. In those years, she and her family struggled through temporary homelessness, poverty, and fear. As the decades ground on, Jill experienced domestic violence, sexual violence, and grappled with her mental health, striving, alone and often hungry, in New York City as a young adult.

After making the difficult decision to self-deport from the US, Jill is now a writer, a filmmaker, and a British citizen. A graduate of the University of Cambridge, she holds a Master's degree, with Distinction, in Creative Writing; she is also a graduate of the University of the Arts London with a Master's degree, also with Distinction, in Documentary Film. At Cambridge, she earned a place as a PhD student in the English department; she was its first candidate without an undergraduate degree. Her writing has featured in the New York Times, The Nation, Electric Lit, and The AAWW's The Margins, where she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her film and photography work has featured on the BBC, Time, and film festivals worldwide; her short documentary film Blood and Ink (Duo at Tinta), about the indigenous Filipino tattooist Apo Whang Od, was an official selection at the Academy Award–qualifying DOC NYC, winning best documentary at Ireland’s Kerry Film Festival.

After a decade of calling London home, Jill now resides in San Francisco with her husband and their dog. Follow her on IG @JillDamatac.