Who is Joanna Barnes?
Joanna Barnes is an American former actress and journalist, perhaps still best known to the world as Gloria Upson in the film “Auntie Mame” (1958), and as Claudia Marius in the film “Spartacus” (1960), among several other notable roles that she secured during her career as an actress, which lasted from 1956 until 2002.
Where is Joanna Barnes now?
Joanna retired from acting in the early 2000s, and since then has taken on a new career as a writer. She has published the book “Starting from Scratch” about home decoration, and fiction novels “The Deceivers”, “Silverwood”, and “Pastora”, among others.
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Furthermore, since leaving acting, Joanna has been writing a weekly book review for the Los Angeles Times, and has also been writing the column “Touching Home” for The Chicago Tribune and the New York News Syndicate. She lives a peaceful life in The Sea Ranch development along the northern coast of California, away from the public eye and the world of entertainment.
Joanna Barnes Biography: Age, Childhood, and Education
Joanna Barnes was born on 15 November 1934, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She is the daughter of John Pindar Barnes and Alice Weston Murch, and spent her childhood in her hometown with her sisters, Alice and Judith. She went to Milton Academy, and after matriculation enrolled at Smith College, from which she earned her degree in 1956, majored in English language.
During her university years, she worked on an article for a magazine about making movies, and her research intrigued her enough for her to change her calling, and start pursuing an acting career.
Career Beginnings
Joanna’s career started in the mid-‘50s, with roles in such TV series as “Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers” (1956) and “The Ford Television Theatre” in 1957. In 1958, she made her film debut as Peg Lawrence in the adventure drama film “Violent Road”, starring Brian Keith, Dick Foran and Efrem Zimbalist Jr., and the same year she was Gloria Upson in the Academy Award-nominated romantic comedy-drama film “Auntie Mame”, which starred Rosalind Russell, Forrest Tucker and Coral Browne.
Rise to Prominence
Her initial success brought her early stardom and more roles which proved popular, such as that of Lola in the TV drama series “21 Beacon Street” (1959), in which she co-starred with Dennis Morgan and James Maloney. The following year, Joanna portrayed Claudia Marius in the Academy Award-winning biopic “Spartacus”, with Kirk Douglas in the titular role of the slave, and co-starring Laurence Oliver and Jean Simmons. In 1961, Joanne played Vicky Robinson, gold-digger in the Oscar Award-nominated romantic comedy film “The Parent Trap”, with Hayley Mills, Maureen O’Hara, and Brian Keith in the lead roles.
Joanna continued her career rather successfully throughout the ’60, making a number of prominent appearances. She was Amy Carter in the western film “The Purple Hills” in 1961, while in 1964 she co-starred next to Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds in the romantic fantasy-comedy film “Goodbye Charlie”, while from 1965 through 1966 she was Katie O’Brien in the Primetime Emmy Award-nominated drama series “The Trials of O’Brien”, co-starring Peter Falk and Elaine Stritch. In 1967 she was cast as Lola in the western film “The War Wagon”, starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Howard Keel, and before the decade ended, in 1969 Joanna guest-starred in the sci-fi adventure series “The Name of the Game”.
Career Decline and Retirement
Joanna started the ‘70s with the role of Jane Ink in the romantic comedy film “B.S. I Love You”, written and directed by Steven Hilliard Stern. However, during the decade, Joanna’s career declined somewhat, as she featured in only a few guest-starring roles, in such TV series as “Hawaii Five-O” in 1972, then “Love, American Style” in 1973, while in 1974 she appeared in the TV series “Planet of the Apes”. The following year, she portrayed Clarice Oliver in the comedy-crime film “I Wonder Who’s Killing Her Now?”, co-starring Bob Dishy and Bill Dana, and in 1976 she played Sharon Cody in the TV series “Executive Suite”. She finished the decade with the role of Julia Lathrop in the TV series “Charlie’s Angels” (1979).
Joanna continued in the same fashion in the ‘80s, making appearances in such TV series as “Barney Miller” in 1982, while in 1983 she portrayed Claudette Crockett in an episode of the popular TV series “Remington Steele”, which starred Stephanie Zimbalist, Pierce Brosnan and Doris Roberts.
Towards the end of the ‘80s, Joanna also appeared in the TV series “Benson” (1986), and in 1989 she was Valerie Crandell in the multiple Primetime Award-winning comedy series “Cheers”, starring Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, and John Ratzenberger.
Joanne then went on hiatus until 1998, when she returned with the role of Vicky Blake in the remake of the popular film “The Parent Trap”, with Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, and Natasha Richardson in the lead roles.
In 2000, Joanna made her last on-screen appearance as Lilian in the TV comedy series “Then Came You”.
Personal Life, Marriage, Divorce, Husband
Joanna has been married three times and has two divorces behind her. She married Richard Edward Herndon in 1955 and the two later divorced, however, she hasn’t disclosed the date when it was finalized. In 1961, she married Lawrence Dobkin and the two were married until 1967. They didn’t have children together, though Joanna was a stepmother to Dobkin’s daughter Deborah, whose biological mother is Dobkin’s first wife Frances Walker. Her third marriage was in 1980 to Jack Lionel Warner and the two remained married until he died in 2012.
Net Worth
As of mid- 2021, Joanna Barnes’ net worth has been estimated to be well over $1 million, earned through her successful career as an actress, during which she appeared in over 100 film and TV titles, and subsequently as a writer.
Appearance and Vital Statistics
This prominent actress has blonde hair and blue eyes. She stands at a height of 5ft 4ins (1.62m), while she weighs approximately 128lbs (58kgs). Her vital statistics are unknown, though she has kept a fit figure despite being in her late 80s.
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