When and where was Jessica Watson born?

Jessica Watson was born on May 18, 1993 in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

She is the second child of Roger Watson and Julie Watson. Jessica has three siblings; Hannah Watson, Emily Watson and Tom Watson.

At age 11, Jessica’s mother read Jesse Martin’s book Lionheart: A Journey of the Human Spirit to the children as a bedtime story. This led to Jessica Watson’s aspiration at age 12, to sail around the world.

The Australian sailor Watson left Sydney on October 18, 2009, at age 16, and headed northeast, crossing the equator in the Pacific Ocean before crossing the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. She returned to Sydney on May 15, 2010.

Amidst the circumnavigation, Watson survived seven knockdowns and 210 days alone at sea to emerge as the youngest person to sail solo around the world.

Upon completion of the voyage, Jessica Watson wrote a book about her experience, titled True Spirit which was published by Hachette Australia and released on July 29, 2010.

Watson also filmed a documentary while at sea. It was narrated by Sir Richard Branson. A film adaption of Jessica’s story is set to be released on Netflix on February 3, 2023.

Jessica was named Young Australian of the Year in 2011 and was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2012.

Following her adventure, Jessica Watson obtained a Diploma in Project Management from the Australian Institute of Management in 2014. She subsequently earned a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communication from Deakin University in 2016 and a Master of Business Administration from the Australian Institute of Management in 2017.

She then wrote a second book dubbed Indigo Blue – Middle Grade Adventure Novel. It was released on January 11, 2018.

Watson was a founding member of the marine start-up Deckee.

Jessica Watson is now an in-demand corporate speaker and a management consultant in Deloitte’s Human Capital consulting team.