Women Behind the Scenes Spotlight: Joanna Kerns

Joanna Kerns

Today’s Women Behind the Scenes spotlight is focused on actress turned director Joanna Kerns.

Born Joanne Crussie DeVarona in San Francisco, Joanna was one of four children, which included her older sister Olympic gold medalist Donna DeVarona. Joanna was an athlete herself in her youth, participating in swimming and then gymnastics. She even tried out for the Olympics in 1968.

Later she attended UCLA, majoring in dance; but she left school to appear in the Gene Kelly production called Clown Around in New York. She also got parts in two New York Shakespeare Festival productions around that time. In 1972, she moved back to California and landed a job as a backup dancer at Disneyland and began audition for commercials and TV roles.

Throughout the late 70’s, she made guest appearances in TV shows such as Starsky and Hutch, Quincy M.E., The Love Boat, Charlie’s Angels, Emergency! and Rhoda. Then during the early part of the 1980’s she appeared in episodes of CHiPS, Three’s Company, Magnum P.I., Laverne & Shirley, The A-Team, Hill Street Blues and Hunter as well as the made-for-TV movies Mother’s Day on Walton’s Mountain, A Wedding on Walton’s Mountain and The Return of Marcus Welby M.D.

It was in 1985 that she landed the role that would make her a household name: the popular, long-running comedy Growing Pains. The series ran for 7 seasons and gave Joanna the chance to direct one episode, which got her hooked.

While she continued acting throughout the 80’s and 90’s, including a lead role in the made-for-TV movie Emma’s Wish and in the ensemble cast of the box office film Girl, Interrupted, she began her new role as a director for TV shows such as Hope & Gloria, Remember WENN, Clueless, Any Day Now, Suddenly Susan and Ally McBeal.

At the turn of the century, she added to her directing resume episodes of Judging Amy, Boston Public, Felicity, Dawson’s Creek, Leap of Faith and Strong Medicine. During that time, she didn’t give up her acting as she appeared in The Growing Pains Movie and the TV shows The Education of Max Bickford and Less Than Perfect. In 2004, she not only appeared in but directed the 2004 made-for-TV movie Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers.

From that time on she directed episodes of One Tree Hill, Clubhouse, The Division, Scrubs, Ghost Whisperer, Related, Joan of Arcadia, Dr. Vegas, ER, Men in Trees, Medium, Psych, Army Wives, Notes from the Underbelly, Private Practice, Grey’s Anatomy, Privileged and Samantha Who?. And, in the latter part of the 2000’s, Joanna appeared in the box office hit Knocked Up and the short-lived TV series Eastwick.

Joanna is also a wife and mother of one daughter.