Jana Altmannová was born on October 17, 1944 in Prague. She first studied scenography at a high school and then graduated from the Department of Puppet Theater at DAMU in 1968. She worked for five years in Essen, West Germany, where she was engaged at the Hohensteiner Puppenspieler Theater and taught at a higher social pedagogical school.
After returning to Prague, she was a member of the Spejbl and Hurvínek Theater and then of the Central Puppet Theater. Since 1982 she has been teaching at the DAMU Department of Puppetry and engaged in dubbing.