She is the author of a dozen plays, eleven novels, two biographies and a collection of articles she originally wrote for a women's magazine. Her books have been translated into several languages.[2]
She is married to the former Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, who was the first openly lesbian head of government in modern history.[3][4] They were one of the first same-sex couples in Iceland to get married (in 2010, shortly after the law took effect, and while Jóhanna was in office);[5] and until 2015, Jónína was the only modern person to have been the same-sex spouse of a sitting head of government (Belgium's Elio Di Rupo has never been married, while Luxembourg's Xavier Bettel was unable to legally marry until 1 January 2015).[6] The pair met in 1983.[7]
Jónina published the biography of Rósa Ingólfsdóttir in 1992.[8] Her book, Sundur og saman (Back and Forth) appeared in 1993. The book was about a child whose parents divorced.[7] She has now written a book about her relationship with the former prime minister.[9]
