| Net Worth | $25 Million |
| Birthdate | Feb 12, 1953 |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.72 m) |
| Profession | Actor, Television Director, Film director |
| Nationality | United States of America |
What Is Joanna Kerns Net Worth?
Joanna Kerns is an American multi-talented artist who has accumulated a net worth of $25 million. Best known as Maggie Seaver from the hit ABC sitcom “Growing Pains” (1985–1992), Kerns has also added to her credit directing, writing, and producing.
With a career spanning over decades, Joanna Kerns has amassed over 70 acting credits. Notable works in the big screen are for the feature films “Coma” (1978), “Girl, Interrupted” (1999), “Knocked Up” (2007), and the TV miniseries “V” (1983), and TV movies “The Preppie Murder” (1989), “The Great Los Angeles Earthquake” (1990), “Terror in the Family” (1996 Writing isn’t the only thing Kerns has been able to display during her work; in 1988, she worked on “Growing Pains” and in 2008 on a short piece called “The Gold Lunch,” which she actually wrote, produced, and directed.
Moreover, Joanna has made significant contributions behind the scenes as a producer. In 2021, for ABC, she created the series “A Million Little Things.” In addition, among the other hits of the TV series, Kern shot episodes of “Growing Pains,” “A Million Little Things” (2018-2020), “Ally McBeal” (1999; 2001), “Judging Amy” (2001), “Dawson’s Creek” (2002), “Scrubs” (2004; 2006), “ER” (2006),
Apart from these skills, Joanna Kerns is an influential activist for women in film. She is co-founder of the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards, which is an event to celebrate women in the entertainment industry. Kerns was also a member of the Motion Picture and Television Fund Board of Trustees from 2004 through to 2008, engaging in service towards the larger entertainment community.
Early Life
Joanna Kerns was born Joanna Crussie DeVarona on February 12, 1953, in San Francisco, California. Her mother Martha managed a clothing store, and David, her father, worked as an insurance agent. In this tapestry, Joanna shared her upbringing with three other siblings: Donna, David, and Kurt. Highlightingly, Donna reached the acme of glory as a two-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming competitions held during the 1964 games.
Such an ancestry only further cemented into the success and ambition of the family background Joanna was a part of, as she was able to trace her own family line to relatives such as Miriam Cooper, who was the epitome of leading silent film actresses that were revered in such silent film landmarks as “The Birth of a Nation” from 1915, and “Intolerance” from 1916. This really had Joanna locked in a feisty sisterly rivalry with Donna, who really had the two of them ratcheted up to high steam in relation to their drives and aspirations. Reflecting on those formative years, Kerns remarked, “Donna was the golden girl. The pressure was inside me to do Donna’s success.”
While initially drawn to swimming, Joanna charted her own path at the age of 14, transitioning to gymnastics. Competitive at heart, she tried for a place at the Olympic trials of 1968, from which she got a respectful ranking of #14 out of 28. She later went on to school and dance at the University of California, Los Angeles.
But her trajectory takes an unforeseen turn, with an appointment to Gene Kelly’s “Clown Around,” drawing her to the New York theatrical world.
But the stage was too much of a temptation. Joanna had to try her hand as an actress. After all, she had played a bit part in “Two Gentlemen of Verona” with the New York Shakespeare Festival and learned much from her experience under the direction of Burgess Meredith in “Ulysses in Nighttown.” Joanna Kerns’ journey embodies the fusing of talent, ambition, and resilience that the standing legacy of her family was all about, with an identity of her own in the entertainment world.
Career
Returning to California in 1972, Joanna succumbed to the siren song of the small screen after landing a gig at Disneyland as a backup dancer, then moved on to the small screen with her debut in 1975’s “It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman!” Her silver screen debut quickly followed with 1976’s “Ape.” It wasn’t long after that she was spotted in her first feature, 1976’s “Ape.” Following roles on “Starsky and Hutch” (1976), “Charlie’s Angels” (1977), “The Love Boat” (1977), “Three’s Company” (1980, 1983), “Magnum, P.I.” (1982-1983), “The A-Team” (1983), “Laverne & Shirley, Notable in filmography are also TV movies such as “The Million Dollar Rip-Off” (1976), “Marjsond Well” (1980), “A Wedding on Walton’s Mountain” (1982), “Mother’s Day on Waltons Mountain” (1982), and “The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.” (1984).
In 1978, she co-starred with Geneviève Bujold and Michael Douglas in the Michael Crichton film “Coma.” Moving on to television series, she played Pat Devon in the CBS series “The Four Seasons” in 1984, but her first major break would come in 1985 with her role as Maggie Seaver on “Growing Pains.” That show aired for seven seasons with 166 episodes and led to reunions for TV films “The Growing Pains Movie” (2000) and “Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers” (2004), the latter she would direct and be her directorial debut.
During her run on “Growing Pains,” Joanna also guest-starred in TV movies such as “A Bunny’s Tale” (1985), “Mistress” (1987), “Street Justice” (1989), “Those She Left Behind” (1989), “The Preppie Murder” (1989), “Blind Faith” (1990), “Deadly Intentions. Again?” (1991). After “Growing Pains,” she turned to directing and later took the helm on episodes of such series as “Hope & Gloria” (1995), “Clueless” (1997-1999), “Suddenly Susan” (1998), “Love Boat: The Next Wave” (1998-1999). At the same time, there were a number of television movies in which the actress took part, the most memorable of them being “Not in My Family” (1993), “See Jane Run” (1995), “No One Could Protect Her” (1996), “Emma’s Wish” (1998). In 1994, she landed a role in the film “No Dessert, Dad, Till You Mow the Lawn.” In 1999, she also filmed “Girl, Interrupted” with Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall, and Brittany Murphy.
During the 2000s, Kerns went on to direct and kept working as an actress in film and series, such as “All Over the Guy” (2001), “Knocked Up” (2007), TV film “Someone to Love” (2001), series “The Education of Max Bickford” (2002), “Less Than Perfect” (2003-2004), and “Eastwick” (2009). Namely, it is a TV series called “Any Day Now” (2000–2002), the TV movie “Defending Our Kids: The Julie Posey Story” (2003), episodes in TV series “The Division” and “One Tree Hill,” dated 2004, and last but not least, in 2005, she managed to participate in creating such series as “Phil of the Future,” “Dr. Vegas,” “Joan of Arcadia,” “Related,” and “Ghost Whisperer.” Next to follow in 2007, Joanna directed eight episodes of “Army Wives,” and another four from 2012 to 2016 on “Pretty Little Liars.” Among more recent directing credits to her name are three episodes of “Jane the Virgin” (2015–2016), two episodes of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” (2015–2016), three episodes of “The Goldbergs” (2016; 2018), two episodes of “Fuller House” (2016), four episodes of “Light as a Feather” (2019), and six episodes of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” (2019; 2021). Kerns also serves as co-executive producer on “A Million Little Things” and has directed six episodes for the series, including the fourth season finale.
Personal Life
Joanna was married to the commercial producer Richard Kerns on December 11, 1976, two years after their first meeting on a set of a commercial. He married Linda, and the two were blessed with a daughter, Ashley, who was born on September 25, 1978. The marriage lasted nine long years before collapsing in 1985. In reentering the stream of love, Kerns said the words ‘I do’ to architect Marc Appleton on September 30, 1994. The matrimonial journey, however, took a different turn when, in August 2019, Joanna filed for divorce.
Joanna felt in December 2016 like she’d lost her second on-screen husband and co-star from “Growing Pains,” when Alan Thicke passed. Kerns is rather sorrowful at the loss, thinking of that bond and recalling the friend he was and the way they had together done and been Maggie and Jason Seaver. She marveled at the deep connection years of acting like love on camera resulted in and said she found it a testament to what real marriage is: embracing imperfections and unconditional love.
Beyond her personal life, Joanna confronted a battle with breast cancer, emerging as a survivor. So, sharing her very brave first-person account from October’s diagnosis of noninvasive DCIS to the discovery of a near 5-centimeter large tumor, the first time this October, Kerns reflected on her medical journey, one filled with trials and tribulations that every individual doesn’t face when dealing with traditional treatments.
She would decide to undergo a bilateral mastectomy in December of 2016, but it was after that seismic shift in outlook that a cancer diagnosis wreaks, upending certainties and priorities of life. Joanna’s story exemplifies the difficulties of resilience to life’s problems, from the bumpy issues of relating to others to troubles related to her health that she had to stand up against with grace and courage.
Award Nominations
In 2020, she received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Children’s or Young Adult Program by the Television Academy for her direction in “Light as a Feather.” In 2019, she has been directing episodes “Lost as Eden,” “Free as a Bird,” “Quiet as a Tomb,” and “Brave as a Lion.”
Real Estate
Real partner in real estate for years, Joanna and Marc built most of their property portfolio in Southern California. The couple has put on sale their beloved Montecito residence famously known as “Villa Corbeau” on the year they filed for divorce. The sprawling 4,167 square foot estate landed on the market in 2020 and ultimately sold for a handsome $8.35 million.
The journey of Villa Corbeau takes us back to 1993 when they first acquired the 1.75-acre property for a modest sum of $730,000. The property in the lap of the scenic Montecito landscape did have a completely adorable dwelling but, in reality, it mainly sold an opulent lifestyle. The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath residence is filled with stylish glamour and plush luxury; a retreat for envy of so fortunate new owners.
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