Joanna Kerns was born as Joanne Crussie DeVarona on 12 February 1953, in San Francisco, California USA, to Martha Louise, a clothing store manager, and David Thomas DeVarona, an insurance agent, of Cuban, German, Welsh, Irish and English descent. She is an actress and director, perhaps best known for her role of Maggie Seaver in the television sitcom “Growing Pains”.
So just how rich is Joanna Kerns? Sources state that Kerns’ net worth reaches $6 million, as of early 2017. Her wealth has been earned through her involvement in the film and television industry.
Joanna Kerns Net Worth $6 million
Kerns grew up in Lafayette, California, along with her three siblings. She attended University of California, Los Angeles, majoring in dance. During her childhood years she pursued gymnastics, along with her sister, the Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Donna DeVarona. However, a knee injury ended that career and she went on to become a dancer.
Kerns eventually moved to New York, where she began her acting career by appearing in various commercials. She also landed roles in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s production of “Two Gentlemen of Verona” and “Ulysses in Nighttown”, before returning to California in the early ’70s to become a back-up dancer at Disneyland. In addition to commercials, she began to land television guest appearances, such as in popular series “Emergency!”, “Starsky and Hutch”, “Charlie’s Angels”, “Three’s Company”, “The Love Boat”, “Laverne & Shirley” and “Hill Street Blues”. She also appeared in several TV films, and made her big screen debut with the leading role of Marilyn Baker in the 1976 monster film “A*P*E”. Becoming recognised, Kerns’ net worth began to rise.
In 1983 she landed the starring role as Pat Devon in the CBS television series “The Four Seasons”. Although the show was short-lived and not very well received, it offered an ideal showcase of Kerns’ versatility as an actress, greatly contributing to her popularity and to her wealth as well.
Two years later she landed a major TV role, the one that has remained her most-remembered one, the part of working mom Maggie Seaver in the ABC family sitcom “Growing Pains”. Her role captured the hearts of a wide audience and catapulted the actress into stardom. She remained in the show for seven seasons, until its cancellation in 1992. Aside from boosting her fame, the series significantly improved Kerns’ fortune – she also directed one episode of the show. Kerns reprized her role of Maggie Seaver in the 2000 television film “The Growing Pains Movie” and the 2004 “Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers”.
As “Growing Pains” ended, the actress went on to expand her resume by landing parts in numerous television films by the end of the ’90s. She starred as Mom in the comedy film “No Dessert Dad, ‘til You Mow the Lawn” and played Annette Kaysen in the psychological drama film “Girl, Interrupted”. All added to her wealth.
Her most recent film role was in the 2007 romantic comedy “Knocked Up” and her most recent television involvement was in the series “Eastwick” in 2009.
Speaking about her directing career, Kerns got beaten by the directing bug when she did an episode while on “Growing Pains”, and she went on to add several more directing projects, such as episodes of the series “Clueless”, “Ally McBeal”, “Any Day Now”, “Felicity”, “Strong Medicine”, “ER”, “Men in Trees”, “Amy Wives” and “Pretty Little Liars”, to name just a few. Her directing career has been another source of her net worth.
When it comes to her off-camera life, Kerns has been married twice, firstly in 1976 to commercial producer Richard Kerns, with whom she has a son; they divorced in 1985. As of 1994 she has been married to architect Marc Appleton.
