Jay Chou was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and raised by his mother, who was a high school teacher. He began playing the piano at the age of 3, showing enormous interest in music. While he was in third grade, he found an interest in cello and had daily cello lessons. His mother took him to concerts to help further develop his talents. His parents porced when he was 14; as a result, he became very independent. Jay studied piano with a minor in cello at Dan Jiang Senior High School. This accounts for his solid background in classical music. In June 1996, Jay did not meet the requirements of his selected university, so he found a job as a waiter.

Jay's first encounter with the music industry was when he entered a talent show as a pianist with his high school friend. Although their performance wasn't exceptional, the producer Jacky Wu saw talent in Jay's composition and decided to give him a chance. He was initially hired to write and produce music for others, including Vivian Hsu, Jolin Tsai and Jody Hui Chiang. Although many of his songs became popular, most people were unaware that they were his creations.

In 2000, Jay has his own album debut by producing and releasing Jay, which, much to everyone's surprise, became an instant hit. It gained great attention in Taiwan as well as the international Chinese community (including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Singapore). When his second album Fantasy was released, he was already among one of the top pop stars in the Asian community. His most critically and financially successful album as of yet is his third, Eight Dimensions.

Jay's fourth CD was named after his mother, Ye Hui Mei. This revolutionary album reveals that Jay is not afraid to experiment with new styles and sounds. He shows a willingness to break his "love ballad" mold and show a more daring and edgy side.

Common Jasmine Orange, Jay's fifth CD, was released on August 3, 2004; the next year, Jay played the leading role Takumi Fujiwara in the movie Initial D, which was based on a popular Japanese anime and manga of the same name. Despite the fact that he won the award for Best Newcomer at the 42nd Golden Horse Awards and the 25th Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in the movie, the movie was a disaster for Jay's public image. Even those of his fans thought the movie revealed his lack of understanding and experience in basic acting. His elaboration of the character Takumi Fujiwara lacked vitality and emotion as certain critics have harshly stated, "he elaborated and acted the character Takumi Fujiwara as a mental retard". Other well known celebrities also appeared in the film, such as Anne Suzuki, Stephen Yung, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Chapman To, and Anthony Wong.

Initial J, his greatest hits compilation, was released in 2005 in Japan only. The name is a play on his movie role, Initial D.

Jay's November's Chopin was released in November 2005. It is based on Frederic Chopi