Jeanine Grasmeijer was born in Emmen. For as long as she can remember she has loved to swim and be in the water. When she embarked on a solo journey through Southeast Asia at the age of 18, she was drawn to a freediving school in Koh Tao, Thailand, eager to learn more about underwater swimming. There it was discovered that she was an unusual talent. Within 2 months she developed a 7+ minute static breath hold, a skill thought to belong exclusively to the top 5 women in the world. Barely 6 months after her start, Jeanine entered her first competition and shattered three Dutch freediving records: Free Immersion with 67 meters, Static with 06:31 minutes and Dynamic with Fins 178 meters.

In the summer of 2013, Jeanine definitely put herself on the map by breaking a long standing world record. She dived to a depth of 90 meters by pulling herself down and back up on a diving line (Free Immersion). She emerged 4 minutes and 17 seconds later as the youngest female world record holder (20 years) in the history of the sport. During the World Cup, Jeanine also set new Dutch records in No Fins (-60 m) and Constant Weight (-80 m). In the summer of 2015, she then fulfilled her dream of becoming world champion in her favorite discipline. She took gold at the AIDA Individual Depth World Championships in Cyprus with a dive to -82 meters in 3 minutes 31 seconds. A month later, she also became the female winner of the Big Blue World Cup in La Paz, Mexico, with a good overall performance in all 3 depth disciplines. Jeanine currently lives in Maastricht, where she studies, works and trains.