Joanna Kerns biography
Date of birth : 1953-02-12
Date of death : -
Birthplace : San Francisco, California, U.S.
Nationality : American
Category : Arts and Entertainment
Last modified : 2011-10-12
Credited as : actress, film director, Growing Pains
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Joanna Kerns was born February 12, 1953, in San Francisco, California. The first parts she landed were commercials. After that, her acting career began to pick up with guest appearances on Starsky and Hutch, Charlie’s Angels, Laverne & Shirley, Three’s Company,
Joanna grew up in an athletic family and seriously pursued gymnastics for a time. Her older sister Donna de Varona won two gold medals at the 1964 Olympics in swimming.
After a knee injury in 1970 ended her gymnastics career, Joanne Kerns decided to try dancing and then moved on to acting. The first parts she landed were commercials and in 1974 she met her future husband, producer Richard Kerns, on a car commercial shoot. Two years later, the couple married. After that, her acting career began to pick up with guest appearances on Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels, Laverne & Shirley, Three's Company, and Hill Street Blues. She even landed a lead role on the 1984 series The Four Seasons, which was based on the 1981 film of the same name.
While her first series didn't last long, Joanna Kerns struck gold with her next project. On Growing Pains, which debuted in 1985, she delighted viewers with her portrayal of warm and sometimes frazzled working mom Maggie Seaver opposite Alan Thicke as her psychologist husband with Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold, and Jeremy Miller as their three children. Ashley Johnson joined the series later on as their fourth child. Ironically as the series was beginning, Kerns' marriage was ending. The couple divorced that same year.
The show ran for seven years as audiences tuned in to watch the Seaver family grow up and overcome life's many challenges. After it ended in 1992, Joanna Kerns continued to act, appearing in several television movies and reprising her role as Maggie Seaver for The Growing Pains Movie (2000) and Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers (2004).
In recent years, Joanna Kerns has spent more of her time working behind the camera. She has directed episodes of many popular television programs, including Ally McBeal, The Division, Scrubs, Ghost Whisperer, and ER.
Joanna Kerns has a daughter, Ashley, from her first marriage. She is currently married to Marc Appleton.
