Born and raised in Ottawa, Janet Green Foster began ballet training at a young age and eventually pursued more formal dance training in the United States and England. She danced professionally with the National Ballet of Canada for two years, but left the ballet world in 1960. Her broadcasting career began when she joined the independent television station CFTO-TV as a production assistant and then moved to the fledgling CTV Television Network.
In 1965, Foster enrolled at York (Glendon) as a mature student and completed an Honours BA, followed by an MA in History at the University of Toronto. In 1971, she returned to York for her doctorate, completing her thesis on the early history of wildlife conservation in Canada.
In 1972, Foster began working with her husband, John, as television producer, writer and co-host in the field of natural science programming. They formed their own production company in 1987, producing and shooting natural science programs for TVOntario, the CBC, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) and Britain’s Channel 4. Since 1995, they have been producing documentaries for the Discovery Channel (Canada).
Foster has published three non-fiction books for young readers: A Cabin Full of Mice, The Wilds of Whip-poor-will Farm and Journey to the Top of the World. She is also co-author, with John, of To the Wild Country and Adventures in Wild Canada.