Jacoba Ballard always had this gut feeling that she never completely belonged in her family. So, in 2014 she used a 23andMe DNA testing kit and discovered a sickening truth that her real biological father was infact her parents’ fertility doctor, Dr Donald Cline. And the rest is all featured on Netflix’s Our Father.
Learn more about her as this Jacoba Ballard Bio proceeds.
Jacoba Ballard On Netflix’s Our Father
Netflix’s new documentary Our Father premiered on May 11, 2022, and it told the story of Jacoba Ballard, one of the many children born from Dr. Donald Cline’s illicit practice of inseminating his clients with his sperm.
According to Dr. Donald, there was no sexual connotation to his actions. However, people refused to believe him and alleged him of having had a sort of religious belief for creating lots of blonde blue-eyed children.
For this action, Dr. Donald eventually lost his license, faced a year of a suspended sentence, and paid a $500 fine. Surprisingly, he did not serve jail time, as the judge allegedly knew Dr. Donald and was incredibly sympathetic to him.
Initially, there were 22 siblings when director Lucie Jourdan started pursuing Jacoba’s story in December 2017. But by the time, they wrapped up the filming, Jacoba had over 94 siblings. “We actually had a new sibling pop up the day the trailer dropped,” Jacoba remarked.
So, why did Jacoba choose to turn this matter into a documentary? Well, she confessed that after “everything that had happened” to them, they had “so little trust.” Though many people approached her, she wanted someone who wasn’t going to spin the story. “We wanted it told accurately, we wanted everything in, and we wanted it made with our feelings in mind,” she added.
Also, Jacoba mentioned that making this film was like “a healing process.”
But on the flip side, every time she gets a new match for her siblings and gives them this news, she feels like she’s ruining their life.
Did you know: Dr. Donald did “everything in his power to silence Jacoba and the making of the film.” But Jacoba was dead set on letting the world know about the truth, nothing could stop her.
Where Is Jacoba Ballard Today?
Jacoba Ballard is an advocate today. She’s actively working to change laws that would criminalize actions like those of her biological father, Dr. Don Cline. And thanks to her efforts, Indiana passed legislation in 2018, that makes illicit donor inseminations illegal.
Besides this, Jacoba today still continues her search for her other half-siblings and offers them support. In an interview in May 2022, she mentioned that she still feared telling another new half-sibling the cruel reality of their biological father.
As of 2022, she resided in Reelsville, Indianapolis, and was the voice for dozens like her. She even created the Donor Conceived Community group to support donor offspring.
Jacoba Ballard Age
Jacoba Ballard was born on August 26, 1980. That made her 41 years of age in 2022.
As per her birthday, she is of the Virgo zodiac.
Jacoba Ballard Job
Jacoba Ballard might be an advocate today, but her full-time job is as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), working 24-hour shifts at Lapel Stony Creek Twp. Fire Territory.
Prior to that, Jacoba volunteered as a firefighter — started right after her high school graduation.
For those of you curious, an EMT in Indiana made around $46 thousand per annum.
Is Jacoba Ballard Married?
Yes, Jacoba Ballard married her high school sweetheart Jacoba Ballard back in 1999.
As of 2022, Jacoba, her husband, and their two kids lived on a gravel road, an hour away from the Indianapolis suburbs. Reportedly, they moved to the place in 2006.
Talking more about her husband, Jacoba served in the army. He was deployed to Iraq, 3 weeks after they moved to their home in the Indianapolis suburbs.
Also, Jacoba shared that her husband and his three brothers were extremely close. So close that Jacoba was jealous of the love between them.
Related FAQs
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What Do We Know About Jacoba Ballard Family?
Jacoba Ballard comes from a broken family. Her parents divorced when she was just a child. And the bitter truth about being a donor child was revealed to her when she was 10. “I was at home with my mom. And it was out of the blue. I don’t know what they were arguing over. But she just looked at me and said, he’s not your dad,” she recalled.
At one point, Jacoba even believed that she was adopted.
As for her siblings, she has a half-brother (from her mother’s previous marriage) that she grew up with. Unfortunately, the two were never close. This was also why she was jealous of her husband and her brothers.
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Is Jacoba Ballard On Instagram And Facebook?
Yes, as of May 2022, find her on Instagram @jacobajballard with 6.1K followers and Facebook @JacobaBallard with 7.6K followers.
Also, here’s her TikTok @jacobajballard. The last we checked, it only had one video and 517 followers.
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