James was born into an Italian family in Chicago. As an adolescent, she studied drama and ballet, and on graduating from high school, went with a local dance group on a tour of Canada. She then took a job as a chorus girl in the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago.

After doing a fill-in in Indiana, she decided to pursue a singing career. Some executives at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) spotted her in a television commercial, and she was signed by MGM in 1952. Her first hit, "Why Don't You Believe Me?" sold over a million copies. She had a number of hits following that one, including "Your Cheatin' Heart" (a cover of Hank Williams' hit) and "Have You Heard?"

She was reportedly the first American to record at London's Abbey Road Studios, and recorded five albums there. She was also very popular across parts of the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in the Philippines where she performed at Manila's now defunct EM Club in 1957. She also scored a big hit in Manila with Filipino composer Salvador Asuncion's work entitled "In Despair."

James had seven Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Why Don't You Believe Me?" (#1 in 1952) "Have You Heard?" (#4 in 1953) "Your Cheatin' Heart" (#2 in 1953) "Almost Always" (#9 in 1953) "My Love, My Love" (#8 in 1953) "How Important Can It Be?" (#2 in 1955) and "You Are My Love" (#6 in 1955) as well as sixteen other Top 40 hits from 1952 to 1961. She has sold more than 100 million records.

In 1964 she retired from the music industry in part because her husband, composer-conductor Nick Acquaviva was in bad health and needed her attention. For many years she was out of the public eye, but began touring again in the mid 1990s following Acquaviva's death.

On October 5, 1997, she married retired Air Force General Bernard Adolph Schriever, 20 years her senior, and an extremely important figure in post-war U.S. ballistic missile development. They honeymooned in France and the Greek Isles. Gen. Schriever died on June 20, 2005.

For her contributions to the entertainment industry, James has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In a 1968 Peanuts strip, after a dust-up with the cat next door, Snoopy says, "Just don't ask to borrow my Joni James records again!" Thirty years later, Snoopy would appear on the cover of her Jukebox Joni compilation album.