Jacqueline was born in Sikeston, Missouri, and spent a good part of her childhood moving from town to town following her father, who worked for the state buying up right-of-way for roads. She attended fifteen grade schools before settling down in Neosho to attend high school there.
At three she won a tap dancing contest and decided that show business was for her. From then on she saw every movie she could, learning how to mouth the actors' lines. Eventually she left the family nest and moved to St. Louis, where she worked for a small theatre company and soon afterwards left for New York to begin her career in earnest. There she studied with Uta Hagen. Her first major role on Broadway was as the ingenue lead in The Wooden Dish, which starred Louis Calhern. This was followed by the ingenue lead in Inherit the Wind, which starred Paul Muni. She started her career in television by playing opposite such stars as Helen Hayes on live television.
In the long-running TV series "The Fugitive," Scott played the sister of Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) in several episodes, including the two-part finale that at the time became the highest-rated program in television history.
