Sass Jordan was born the daughter of French-born literary professor Albert Jordan and former ballerina Jean Lanceman. When Sass Jordan was three years old, Albert Jordan and his family moved from France to Montreal for a position as professor at Concordia University.
In her early teens, Jordan regularly sang and played guitar with a group of friends in Westmount Park. At the age of 16, Sass Jordan began performing with bands in downtown Montreal clubs and eventually became the lead singer/bassist for the well-known local band The Pinups.
In 1986, Jordan made her recording debut on Bündock's album Mauve as co-lead vocalist of the song ''Come On (Baby Tonight)''. She soon began working as a session singer for other Montreal-based acts, most notably The Box. Jordan appeared as a singer in the music video for The Box's song ''Closer Together,'' although the vocals were recorded by Martine St. Clair. Local acts began recording songs written by Jordan, including Michael Breen's hit Canadian single Rain, which appeared on his self-titled 1987 album.
Her first single, "Tell Somebody," from her debut album of the same name won the 1989 Juno Award for most promising singer. Since then, she has been nominated three more times and won the Billboard Best Female Rock Vocalist award.