Jessica Kirikava was born and raised in Tokoroa. She is of Cook Islands descent. Her Grandfather is from the village of Amuri in Aitutaki, and her Grandmother is from Arorangi in Rarotonga. She has one daughter, named Anneka Moana Kirikava. Her essay "Growing up as a Cook Islander with diabetes" appears in the new anthology Te Kinakina: E Ngara I te Ngari / Remember who you are and where you come from.