JD Samson was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 4 1978, and in 2000, graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, with a degree in film. She acted as the projectionist for Le Tigre before joining the band properly in 2000 as a replacement for Sadie Benning. Samson also performs in The New England Roses, and with Radio Sloan and Samantha Maloney is a member of The Herms (the live band of electro punk artist Peaches). In addition to her musical ventures, Samson is a co-founder of the conceptual dance group Dykes Can Dance, who perform unannounced, choreographed dance routines around New York to combat the stereotype of lesbians as bad dancers. In 2003, she released JD's Lesbian Calendar in collaboration with photographer Cass Bird, which was followed by 2006's JD's Lesbian Utopia, a calendar documenting Samson's travels around the USA in an RV.