Jacquelyn Edmonds Cofer attended Princeton University, graduating with an A.B. in politics, with certificates awarded in urban studies, political economy, and African-American Studies. She also earned an M.B.A. at the Harvard Business School.

After her graduation from HBS, Cofer left corporate life to become a television writer and producer. Her first network television-writing job was on Martin. Within two years, she had risen to supervising producer. After Martin, she was the co-executive producer of Fox's Living Single. While there, Cofer produced and developed several pilots of her own. She then joined UPN as the executive producer of Moesha and the co-executive producer of Abby. Cofer was also the co-executive producer of the WB's All about the Andersons, shot a pilot for Paramount Studios based on the Latina singing group Soluna, and was co-executive producer of the UPN comedy Cuts.

Currently, Cofer is the creator and executive producer of Let's Stay Together, BET's first original scripted comedy. The series led the rebranding of BET as a network for sophisticated, aspirational, urban adults. Its premiere was the fifth most-watched cable television sitcom in history, with 4.4 million viewers.

Cofer Entertainment Group, which she runs with her husband, James Cofer, Jr., is developing live theater and feature film projects geared towards Christian audiences. Their instructional video, "The Business of Acting: Getting Paid," is available through their website, coferentertainmentgroup.com.