Jason Momoa was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Coni (née Lemke), a photographer, and Joseph Momoa, a painter. His father is Native Hawaiian, while his mother is of German, Irish, and Pawnee ancestry.

Shortly after his birth, Momoa's parents divorced, and he moved to Norwalk, Iowa, with his mother, where he was raised and attended Norwalk High School.

Momoa began his modeling career and was discovered by Takeo Kobayashi, an international fashion designer. He won Hawaii's Model of the Year and walked the runway for Louis Vuitton at the Governor's Fashion Show. He also landed a role on Baywatch Hawaii as Jason Ioane, a part he played for a couple of seasons.

Momoa appeared in the Fox drama North Shore as Frankie and began his long-running role as Ronon Dex on the Syfy science fiction series Stargate: Atlantis, for which he learned martial arts.

Momoa gained notoriety for his role as Khal Drogo on HBO's Game of Thrones and starred as the title character in the reimagining of Conan the Barbarian, a role made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Momoa directed and co-wrote Road to Paloma, an American drama thriller film, which premiered at the 2014 Sarasota Film Festival and had a limited theatrical release.

Momoa starred in the Discovery Channel historical drama series Frontier and began his role as Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe films, solidifying his A-list status.

Momoa played Duncan Idaho in the science fiction film Dune, further expanding his filmography in the sci-fi genre.

Momoa starred in the action film Fast X, continuing his career in high-profile action films.