Joanna Kerns facts for kids

Joanna Kerns is an American actress and director. She is most famous for playing the mom, Maggie Seaver, on the popular sitcom Growing Pains from 1985 to 1992.

Early Life and Gymnastics

Kerns was born in San Francisco, California. Her family was involved in sports and entertainment. Her older sister is Donna de Varona, a famous Olympic swimmer. Her aunt, Miriam Cooper, was an actress in silent films.

Before she became an actress, Kerns was a talented gymnast. She even competed in the Olympic trials in 1968, where she placed 14th.

Acting Career

First Steps in Show Business

Kerns first started in entertainment as a dancer. She studied dance at UCLA but left college for a part in a Gene Kelly show called Clown Around in New York. She also acted in plays, including some for the New York Shakespeare Festival.

In 1972, she moved back to California and began looking for roles in television. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, she appeared in many popular TV shows. Some of these included Charlie's Angels, The A-Team, Three's Company, and Magnum, P.I.. She said she "auditioned for anything, hoping to get a big break."

Becoming Famous with Growing Pains

In 1985, Kerns got the role that would make her famous. She auditioned with actor Alan Thicke for a new family show called Growing Pains. They had great chemistry during the audition and both got the parts of the parents.

Growing Pains was a successful sitcom about two working parents raising their three children. The show was very popular and aired on ABC for seven years, from 1985 to 1992. Kerns returned to play Maggie Seaver in two reunion movies: The Growing Pains Movie (2000) and Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers (2004).

While on Growing Pains, Kerns also starred in several TV movies. These roles allowed her to play different types of characters than the mom she was known for on her sitcom.

Directing Career

After Growing Pains ended, Kerns decided to focus more on directing. She had directed one episode of the show and discovered she loved it. She said she was fascinated by how a director could shape a story.

She has directed episodes for many well-known television shows. Some of the shows she has directed include:

• Dawson's Creek
• Scrubs
• Psych
• Grey's Anatomy
• Army Wives
• Pretty Little Liars
• The Goldbergs
• This Is Us
• Fuller House

Kerns has also appeared in a few movies, such as Girl, Interrupted (1999) and the comedy Knocked Up (2007).

Personal Life

In 1976, Kerns married Richard Kerns, and they had a daughter named Ashley. They were married for nine years. In 1994, she married Marc Appleton, an architect. They divorced in 2019.

In 2016, Kerns was diagnosed with a form of breast cancer. She had surgery and has since spoken about her experience to raise awareness.

Selected Filmography

Here are some of Joanna Kerns's most notable roles as an actress.

See also

In Spanish: Joanna Kerns para niños