Edmund Patrick Jordan was born on 30 March 1948 at the Wentworth Nursing Home in Dublin, Ireland, to Eileen and Paddy Jordan. His father worked as an accountant for the ESB (Electricity Supply Board) and his mother was a housewife. He had one older sister, Helen. During a Dublin banking strike in 1970, he travelled to Jersey, discovered kart racing, and returned to Ireland hooked on motorsport.

Jordan won the Irish Kart Championship at his first attempt in 1971 and progressed rapidly through Formula Ford, Formula Atlantic (which he won in 1977 under a Marlboro contract), Formula 3, and Formula 2. He tested a McLaren F1 car in 1979 and competed in the 1981 Le Mans 24 Hours in a BMW M1. A series of serious accidents, including a leg-breaking crash at Mallory Park, eventually led him to retire from driving and focus on team management. He attended Synge Street CBS secondary school in Dublin.

Jordan founded Eddie Jordan Racing in 1979, winning the British F3 Championship with Johnny Herbert in 1987 and the Formula 3000 title with Jean Alesi in 1989. Jordan Grand Prix entered Formula 1 in 1991, famously giving Michael Schumacher his F1 debut at the Belgian Grand Prix. The team won four Grands Prix including a famous 1-2 finish for Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher at the 1998 Belgian GP, and mounted a genuine championship challenge in 1999. He sold the team to the Midland Group for an estimated $60 million in 2005. The team eventually became Force India, Racing Point, and now Aston Martin F1.

After selling the team, Jordan became the BBC’s chief F1 analyst (2009–2015) alongside David Coulthard and Jake Humphrey, and then moved to Channel 4 in 2016. He appeared as a presenter on Top Gear (BBC Two, 2016–2018). In 2023 he co-launched the Formula for Success podcast with David Coulthard. His final act in F1 was serving as Adrian Newey’s manager, facilitating the designer’s move from Red Bull to Aston Martin. He passed away in Cape Town on 20 March 2025, surrounded by family, ten days before his 77th birthday.