Once a star of the late ’80s and early ’90s, Joanna Kerns is an example of true art discovery and reinvention at the end of a career. She was once a known face on the small screens of the sitcom, Growing Pains but now stands behind her as director. Scroll down for more from the actress-turned-director; professional history, his childhood and his relationships.
Joanna Kerns – Organic
Kerns was born into a family of ambitious men and women to a father who was an insurance agent and a mother who was a clothing store manager. He was born on February 12, 1953 in San Francisco, California. His parents were able to raise six children by passing on their ambitious nature. They raised the future Olympic gold medalist, a silent film actress, and Joanna herself.
The ambitious and competitive environment at home sparked a rivalry with her sister, Donna de Varona, who even managed to win two gold medals at the 1964 Olympics. Joanna Kerns, however, could not compete with her on her home turf. as an athlete. She managed to place 14th out of 28 competitors in an Olympic gymnastics trial.
Kerns finally realized that competitive sports weren’t for her; A realization that was reinforced when she injured her knee in 1970 and ended all hope of a career in gymnastics. She then decided to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, specifically in dance. She applied to UCLA and majored in dance.
Acting career
Sometimes we stumble over their fate. Although she was an aspiring dancer, Joanna Kerns saw Gene Kelly Production’s ad asking an actress to do a part in a play. She auditioned and got a part in the play. Following her appearance in the play, Kerns dropped out of school and moved to New York City.
In New York, she acted in other plays and in collaboration with Burgess Meredith, to whom she attributes a great influence on her career. After a period working on plays in New York, Kerns returned to Los Angeles, this time as an aspiring film actress.
She made her screen debut in 1976, as Marilyn Baker in MONKEY and as Jessie in The Million Dollar Scam. Her first appearance in a prominent project was in 1977, when she appeared on an episode of Charlie’s Angels. She played Natalie Sands in the episode “The Blue Angels”.
During the year, Joanna Kerns began to grow her profile, guesting on various TV shows like The Love Boat, ME, Team A, Magnum PI. She has also starred in a few TV movies like The Wedding Is Alive and Well, A Wedding on Walton Mountain and the sequel, Mother’s Day on Walton Mountain.
After years of TV appearances and movies, Kerns landed her big hit show haul in 1984. She was cast to play Maggie Seaver in the sitcom, Growing Pains. The show was a big hit and it raised Kerns’ profile as an actress, so much so that when she performed different roles than her character, Maggie Seaver, was considered controversial, as was the role she played. she had starred in the 1992 film, The Night Watchman, where she played a heavily sexual motel owner. The growing pains lasted from 1985 to 1992.
While running Growing Pains, Kerns had the opportunity to try her hand at directing and she immediately fell in love with it. She would later transition from acting to directing. Since making the transition, she has been able to develop an impressive TV directorial resume with shows like Scrubs, Titans, This Is Us, Grey’s Anatomy, Pretty Little Liars, among others.
She hasn’t appeared in many feature films, her only feature being an appearance in the 2007 film, Knocked Up.
Since stepping away from camera projects, she had co-founded an awards show called the Lucy Awards which honors women in theatre. She was also a member, from 2004 to 2008, of the board of directors of the Cinema and Television Fund.
Net value
The actress/director is worth $6 million, stemming from a successful acting and directing career. She had a steady stream of managerial jobs which helped her amass the impressive net worth.
Family – husband, daughter, sister
Joanna Kerns is the third child of four children, and for a brief period had a rivalry battle with her athletic sister, Donna de Varona. Donna is an Olympic gold medalist swimmer who was also a former record holder.
Joanna had the pleasure of being married twice. She was originally married to Richard Kerns, a commercial producer whom she met while working as a commercial television actress. They married in 1975 and the marriage produced a child, Ashley Cooper, but the couple got a divorce in 1985. Joanna is currently m
