Joss Stone was born Jocelyn Eve Stoker in April 1987 at Buckland Hospital in Dover, Kent, and spent her teenage years in Ashill, a small village in Devon. In 2001, aged 14, she auditioned for the BBC Television talent show “Star for a Night” in London, singing Aretha Franklin's 1968 hit "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", and Whitney Houston's 1998 hit "It's Not Right but It's Okay", eventually winning. In 2002, Stone flew to an audition in New York City with S-Curve Records CEO Steve Greenberg, where she performed Donna Summer's 1979 track "On the Radio". She was promptly signed by S-Curve Records, and flew to Miami and Philadelphia to start work on her debut album, “The Soul Sessions”, which was released in September 2003. It made the Top 5 on the UK Albums Chart, and the Top 40 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with lead single "Fell in Love with a Boy" (a rework of The White Stripes' 2001 song "Fell in Love with a Girl") reaching the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. Second single, a cover version of Sugar Billy's 1974 song "Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin' on Me)" replicated the success of its predecessor, and the album received a 2004 Mercury Music prize nomination, and eventually went triple platinum in April 2005.

Stone's second album, and her first with new material, “Mind, Body & Soul”, was released in September 2004, debuting at number 1 in the UK (breaking Avril Lavigne's record as the youngest female ever to top the UK Albums Chart) and peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard 200. Lead single "You Had Me" climbed to number 9 in the UK, subsequent singles "Right to Be Wrong" and "Spoiled" both made the Top 40, and "Don't Cha Wanna Ride" the Top 20. A year after its release, “Mind, Body & Soul” was certified triple platinum, and at the 2005 BRIT Awards, Stone was nominated for “British Breakthrough Act”, and won “British Female Solo Artist” and “British Urban Act”, entering the Guinness World Records as the youngest BRIT Award solo winner (at age 17). She also received a nomination for “Best UK Act of the Year” at the 2005 MOBO Awards as well as 3 2005 Grammy nominations (for “Best New Artist”, “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance” (for "You Had Me"), and “Best Pop Vocal Album” (for “Mind, Body & Soul”)). At the ceremony Stone sung with Melissa Etheridge, and their performance of "Cry Baby/Piece of My Heart", when released as a single, was Stone's first single to enter the US Billboard Hot 100, at number 32.

Joss Stone began work on her third studio album, “Introducing Joss Stone”, at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, in May 2006. Released just under a year later (in March 2007), it involves production by Raphael Saadiq and collaborations with Lauryn Hill, Common, and Joi. The album debuted at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart, and number 2 on the Billboard 200 selling 118,000 copies in its first week, becoming the highest debut for a British solo female artist on the US chart, surpassing the record previously held by Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” (Stone's then record has since been beaten by Leona Lewis, whose album “Spirit” debuted at number 1 in April 2008). "Tell Me 'bout It", the album's lead single, peaked at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 83 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Second single, "Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now" (a collaboration with rapper Common) didn’t make the UK Top 75, but was received better in the US, making the Top 65 of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. At the 2007 Grammy Awards, Stone shared the award for “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals” for her collaboration with Sly & the Family Stone, John Legend, and Van Hunt on "Family Affair".

In other work, 2005 saw Stone lend her voice to the “Fantastic Four” soundtrack, singing the title song "What Ever Happened to the Heroes", written by Pink, billymann, and Christopher Rojas, she performed a medley of "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" and "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" with James Brown on the BBC’s “Friday Night with Jonathan Ross”, sang a duet with Rob Thomas on a cover of Stevie Nicks's 1981 song "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" at Fashion Rocks 2005, and collaborated with jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and blues singer-guitarist Jonny Lang on a cover of U2's 1988 song "When Love Comes to Town" (for Hancock's 2005 album “Possibilities”). In 2006, Stone joined Stevie Wonder, India.Arie, and John Legend during the Super Bowl XL pre-game ceremonies to perform a medley of Wonder's hits, she was featured along with Sean Paul on Santana's "Cry Baby Cry", worked with Patti LaBelle on a remake of the latter's 1985 song "Stir It Up" (for the soundtrack to the Disney animated motion picture “Chicken Little”), and collaborated with Lemar on his third studio album “The Truth About Love” (on the track "Anniversary"). In 2007, Stone collaborated with Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo on a cover of The Rolling Stones' 1969 song "Gimme Shelter" (for Kidjo's album Djin Djin), made a cameo appearance in Mexican singer Aleks Syntek's music video "Historias de Danzón y de Arrabal", and performed live with LeAnn Rimes on CMT’s “Crossroads”. The following year, Stone appeared on Randy Jackson's compilation album “Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1” with the song "Just Walk on By" (which contains a sample from Dionne Warwick's 1964 song "Walk on By"), and contributed to the soundtrack of 2008's “Sex and the City: The Movie” with overdubbed vocals on Al Green's 1972 classic "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", reinvented as a duet.

Joss Stone has sold over 10 million albums worldwide.