Joanna Kerns American actress and director best known for her role as Maggie Seaver on the family situation comedy Growing Pains. She is back in the camera’s eyes not because of her acting but her recent divorce decision.
In 1994, she married second time with Marc Appleton, a famous architect from Los Angeles. But now, when they were about to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Joanna filed a divorce from Appleton in August.
The actress who made her name through the 80’s sitcom ‘Growing Pains’ was born February 12, 1953, in San Francisco, California. She is the third child of four, and her older sister, Donna de Varona, is an Olympic gold medalist as a swimmer and won two gold medals in the 1964 Olympics.
Joanna stepped into show business as a dancer before starting acting. She joined UCLA and majored in dance. There, Joanna saw a poster for a Gene Kelly production called Clown Around and immediately jumped at the chance to audition.
However, Joanna would have to drop out of college for auditioning there, so she did and moved to New York. After Clown Around, she also got parts in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s production, where she met director, Burgess Meredith. Later, they had an excellent working relationship.
On May 4, 1977, Joanna appeared as Natalie on Charlie’s Angels, in the episode “The Blue Angels,” an employee at a massage parlor. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Joanna started making her name on the guest stars list on many televisions shows.
Kerns auditioned for a new series, Growing Pains, in 1984. She auditioned with Alan Thicke, whom she joked in many interviews that she and Alan had immediate chemistry. Joanna was a part of all the seven seasons of this series until the show ended in 1992.
Alan died in 2016, and Joanna gave a heartfelt tribute to him. “Alan was a true and loyal friend just like Maggie and Jason; we experienced more than life-changing success together. She added, “When someone pretends to love day after day, year after year, you observe all their faults and foibles and accept them as they are, separate from you.
She said, “there is a connection that happens that is very hard to explain.” Joanna added, “I thought with Alan. Maybe that’s what marriage should be, his ability to love without judgment and his strength to remain separate.”
When it comes to Joanna’s personal life, In 1974, she met a commercial producer, Richard Kerns. They first interact on the set of a commercial, and after two years, they married. Their marriage lasted nine years, and they had a daughter, Ashley Cooper.
As mentioned earlier, it was Joanna’s second marriage with Marc Appleton. Joanna and Marc may divorce, but their relationship lasted longer than most Hollywood couples nowadays. Their divorce reason has not been specified, but both spent a long time of their life together. The decision of their divorce is so shocking for all.
