Jean Thibodeaux Kreamer was born June 15, 1944 in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. She is the daughter of Howard A. and Lena B. Thibodeaux and the spouse of Dr. Thomas L. Kreamer.

After graduating from St. John Academy in Franklin, Louisiana, in 1962, Dr. Kreamer entered the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) and received her B.A. in 1967. In 1968, she entered graduate school at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, receiving her M.A. in Education. She has worked as a librarian at the Hamilton Laboratory School at USL, served as director of the Materials Center and of the Institutional Research in the College of Education, and served as the director of the University Media Center and University Print Shop. She also served on many committees locally and nationally, including the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, the I-49 South Project Task Force, and the Board of Commissioners for the Louisiana State Library.