Born: 1965
Biography:
Jill Heinerth (born 1965) is a Canadian cave diver, underwater explorer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker. She has made TV series for PBS, National Geographic Channel, and the BBC, consulted on movies for directors including James Cameron, written several books, and produced documentaries including We Are Water and Ben’s Vortex, about the disappearance of Ben McDaniel.
As a child, Heinerth was inspired by Jacques Cousteau’s television series. In 5th grade, she gave a Science Fair project about mysterious disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle. She gained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communications Design at York University and ran a small graphic design agency in Toronto while teaching scuba in Lake Huron’s port of Tobermory in the evenings.
In 1991, Heinerth quit her office job and moved to the Cayman Islands to dive full-time, honing her skills in underwater photography. She then moved to Florida to work on cave diving, where she was mentored by documentary filmmaker Wes Skiles. She collaborated with his Karst Productions, based in High Springs, Florida.
In 1998, Heinerth was part of the team that made the first 3D map of an underwater cave. She became the first person to dive the ice caves of Antarctica, penetrating further into an underwater cave system than any woman ever. In 2001, she was part of a team that explored ice caves of icebergs, where she and her then-husband Paul Heinerth discovered wondrous life and magical vistas and experienced the calving of an iceberg, documented in the film Ice Island. In 2015, Heinerth participated in exploring the numerous anchialine caves of Christmas Island.
Heinerth consults on training programs for diving agencies, publishes photojournalism in a range of magazines, and speaks around the world. She has written opinion pieces and articles about exploration and climate change for global publications, including the Los Angeles Times. In 2020, she spoke with the podcast This is Love about diving in ice caves in Antarctica. Jill Heinerth is a prolific public speaker and educator represented by the Speaker’s Spotlight agency. In 2020, she was interviewed on many radio, TV, and podcast programs, including the NPR radio program Fresh Air.
Personal life
Heinerth married cave diver Paul Heinerth in 1996; they later divorced. In April 2007, she married her second husband, writer, photographer, and new media expert Robert McClellan, with whom she lives in Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada. Heinerth has described her hobbies as hiking, kayaking, and cycling. She enjoys getting up at dawn and cycling to her local spring, where a robust swim against the current of the Santa Fe River starts her day on the right track.