1929年4月5日出生在英国考文垂（Coventry）,在南非长大，20世纪五十年代回到英国，60年代到80年代，他一直在剧院工作，活跃在戏剧舞台。他在BBC喜剧《是，首相 Yes, Minister》中的绝佳表演为他赢得了广泛的好评。
Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay created and wrote every episode of the acclaimed BBC political comedy series Yes Minister (1980) and Yes, Prime Minister (1986). The series received numerous accolades including three BAFTA (British Academy) Awards, two Broadcasting Press Guild Awards and two Pye Television Writers Awards. It also won four BAFTA Awards for the star, Nigel Hawthorne. Lynn also won the BAFTA (British Academy) Writers Award. In the US he won the ACE Award for Best Written Comedy Series on cable television, having also been nominated the previous year. In addition, for "Yes, Minister" Lynn was given a Special Award from the Campaign For Freedom Of Information. He wrote three best-selling books, "The Complete Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, Volumes 1 and 2" based on the series. All went to #1 on the London Sunday Times best-seller list. Between them they have sold over a million copies in hardback, were in the top ten best-sellers for three years and have been translated into numerous languages. "The Complete Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, Volume 2" were the 2nd and 3rd British best-sellers of the decade, 1980-1989.
