Jacqueline "Jackie" Payne arrived in Los Angeles when her son, Dominick "Nick" Payne, a captain for a Marone Industries, was injured in a tanker accident. Jackie was upset when her former paramour, Massimo Marone, claimed not to recognize her, especially since Jackie was harboring a secret: Massimo was Nick's father. Jackie took a job as a buyer for Fenmore's department store chain and moved into Taylor Hayes' old beach house just as Eric Forrester came to the house for solace in the wake of his estrangement from his wife, Stephanie Forrester. Eric and Jackie became friends, while a jealous Stephanie told Jackie to stay away from Eric.

On Massimo's private jet, Jackie and Massimo cleared things up: Jackie's then-husband, Frank Payne, knew Jackie was having an affair with Massimo, and blackmailed Massimo into staying away, while Jackie was under the impression that Massimo had abandoned her. The plane hit bad weather, and, just before it crashed, Jackie admitted that Nick was Massimo's son. Jackie lay in a coma while Nick and Massimo came to terms with their newfound connection. When Jackie recovered, Massimo proposed. Eric kissed Jackie and tried to convince her not to marry Massimo, but Jackie was happy to finally give Nick a family.

After Nick had "grief sex" with Brooke Logan, who thought her husband, Ridge Forrester, was dead, Jackie was sure Brooke was carrying Nick's baby, which a paternity test confirmed; no one knew the test had been altered by a vengeful Sally Spectra. Jackie found out the original test was a mistake; she kept the news to herself so Nick would have a chance with Brooke, but was so distraught she had a vision of the deceased Taylor after too much liquor. Jackie was forced to get Deacon Sharpe a job with Massimo when Deacon learned Jackie's secret and blackmailed her with it. Feeling controlled by Massimo, Jackie became attracted to Deacon, making love to him when Deacon had a second paternity test run which substantiated Nick as the father of Brooke's child. Soon Jackie learned Deacon had lied and that the returning Ridge was the father; Jackie was shunned by Nick and Massimo for a time.

Jackie continued seeing Deacon, even though a conciliatory Massimo asked Jackie to come home and bought her a chain of clothing stores he renamed "Jackie M." Jackie blamed herself when Massimo found out about her affair and had a stroke, confessing her love for Massimo to a priest, unaware the silent Massimo could see and hear everything. Jackie hesitated resuming her affair with Deacon, who drugged Jackie with antianxiety pills. By the time the recovered Massimo caught Jackie with Deacon and divorced her, Jackie was ready to move on. But Jackie had her hands full when Massimo got his revenge by spiking recovering alcoholic Deacon's drink; Jackie was embarrassed when Deacon showed up to a Jackie M meeting drunk. Jackie lost Deacon when he pushed her away to go into rehab.

Jackie smelled a rat when Stephanie had a heart attack and declared her dying wish was for Ridge to remarry the returned-from-the-dead Taylor, so Jackie wooed Stephanie's doctor, Mark Maclaine, got his confession that Stephanie was faking on tape, and exposed Stephanie, which freed up Eric. Jackie and Eric again grew close, but Jackie was hurt when Eric briefly remarried Brooke to keep Brooke away from Nick, who was seeing Eric and Brooke's daughter, Bridget Forrester. Just as Jackie and Eric found each other again, Eric's other daughter, Felicia Forrester, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Jackie understood when Eric reunited with Stephanie for the dying Felicia's benefit, but Jackie found herself alone when Felicia recovered and Eric stayed with Stephanie anyway.

Jackie was arrested for tax evasion, tax fraud, and money laundering; Massimo, who had framed Jackie as further revenge for her affair with Deacon, offered to free Jackie if she helped separate Nick and Brooke. Jackie refused but got out of jail after Nick uncovered Massimo's plot. Jackie had a brief fling with Brooke's father, Stephen Logan, turned on that he had also romanced a 2% share in Forrester Creations out of Taylor to give to Brooke. Jackie and Stephanie's argument over which of their sons belonged with Brooke ended with Jackie falling over a second-story railing at the Forrester mansion. Though Stephanie hadn't pushed her, Jackie weakly nodded that she had, leading Nick to blackmail Eric into signing over control of Forrester and make Jackie its president.

When Nick began recalling suppressed memories of Jackie accepting money for sex, Jackie was forced to admit she had briefly prostituted herself to support her young son. Jackie's past became public when Stephanie, anxious to boot Jackie from Forrester, tracked down one of Jackie's johns and installed him on stage during a fashion show. Later, Jackie was stopped from seducing Eric by Stephanie's sister, Pam Douglas, who was keeping watch in Stephanie's absence.

Jackie worked with Brooke's sister, Donna Logan, to separate Ridge and Brooke so Brooke would go back to Nick. Jackie became Donna's confidante as Donna tried to get revenge on Stephanie by marrying her other son, Thorne Forrester, but the friendship was short-lived: as Jackie waited for Eric in a bathtub, Donna arrived for her own seduction, so Jackie threw Donna into the tub.

Jackie gained her own fashion house when Nick returned control of Forrester Creations and bought rival fashion house Spectra Fashions for her; later, Jackie became a suspect when Stephanie was shot. Jackie continued weighing in on Nick's ever-changing love life, but Jackie M hit hard times, so Jackie brought fledgling designer Bridget on as the mysterious "Madame X," also hiring Owen Knight as a model on Bridget's recommendation. No one was more surprised than Jackie when nemesis Stephanie defected from Forrester and helped dig Jackie M out of its financial crisis, after which Jackie and Stephanie became fast friends. Jackie and her team rallied around Stephanie when she had a mini-stroke and accepted Pam into their "little family."

Jackie bought a penthouse loft for her intimate encounters with Owen, telling him he could date Bridget, but if he wasn't available to fulfill Jackie's needs on demand, she would fire him. Eventually, Jackie and Owen's relationship took a more serious turn, and they were married in Hawaii. On the suggestion of PR whiz Whip Jones, Jackie and Owen modeled for their racy Indulge line, which involved a live cougar; Jackie was saved by Owen when the cougar cornered her in her office. Upset to see Owen on television dismissing their marriage as "a wild ride," Jackie found comfort with Whip, but Owen revealed that his twin brother, Casper Knight, had "punk'd" Owen by appearing in his place. Jackie tried to prove her devotion to Owen by parasailing over his house displaying a banner, but she ran into a flock of seagulls and plunged into the ocean.

Jackie was touched when Owen gave up his dream of being a father because Jackie had resisted the idea of having a baby with him by surrogate. However, the newly-reunited Nick and Bridget hired their own surrogate, Agnes Jones, who ultimately lost Nick's baby; Jackie took it in stride when Bridget guiltily confessed that her consolation from Owen had turned sexual and that she had become pregnant. Jackie forgave Owen and told Bridget that they should let Nick believe he was the father, which backfired when Nick found out and turned his back on the trio. Jackie defended her Three's Company living arrangement to the fashion press when she, Bridget, and Owen decided to raise baby Logan together. But Jackie unnerved Bridget by referring to the baby as hers and suggesting they change his name.

Jackie stayed true to Owen when she was romanced by Bridget's brother, Rick Forrester, who wanted to clear the way for Bridget and Owen. Later, when doctors found a spot on Nick's lung, Jackie and Stephanie staged an intervention to get Nick to stop smoking cigars. Amid more money troubles, Jackie sold her loft and annoyed Nick by moving in with him, but Jackie refused to sell half of Jackie M to Bill Spencer, declaring she would rather succeed or fail on her own. Seeing Bridget and Owen's closeness over their baby, Jackie sent them on an extended vacation and told a reluctant Owen he belonged with Bridget.

Jackie again became close to Eric over his intimacy issues with the cancer-afflicted Stephanie. Jackie and Eric kissed but passed up an affair because they didn't want to hurt Stephanie, who spurned Jackie when she found out. Angry, Jackie recruited Pam to steal designs from Forrester, promising affection from Nick in exchange for the sketches. Jackie was exposed when Bridget recognized Eric's work on the Jackie M runway; Jackie endured a slap from Stephanie but felt worse for Forrester intern Beverly, who had been blamed for the theft. Jackie resisted when Owen returned to L.A. solo declaring he wanted Jackie back; Jackie felt Logan should have both parents, but soon Jackie and Owen, who had never finalized their divorce, had a joyous reunion and disappeared from the canvas with no explanation until 2013, when a visiting Bridget reported Jackie and Owen were living next to her in New York and helping to raise Logan. In 2016, Jackie was said to be traveling the world, presumably having split from Owen.