CINEFILER

Joanna Kerns

Born
February 12, 1953
Joanna Crussie DeVarona Kerns is an American actress and director best known for her role as Maggie Seaver on the family situation comedy Growing Pains from 1985 to 1992. After Growing Pains ended, she turned to directing. She directed one episode of Growing Pains while starring on the show and got hooked. She has also directed episodes of television shows including Dawson's Creek, Titans, Scrubs, Private Practice, Psych, Felicity, Grey's Anatomy, Privileged, ER, Ghost Whisperer, Army Wives, Pretty Little Liars, Switched at Birth, The Goldbergs, This Is Us, and Fuller House. She has also made notable appearances in feature films, including A*P*E, Girl, Interrupted, and the 2007 comedy Knocked Up. She has also starred in a number of TV movies. In 1974, Kerns met a commercial producer, Richard Kerns, on the set of a commercial, and they married two years later. Their marriage lasted nine years and the couple had a daughter, Ashley Cooper. In 1994, she married Marc Appleton, a prominent Los Angeles architect. In August 2019, she filed for divorce from Appleton. She previously dated comedian and actor Freddie Prinze a short time before he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The two had worked together on the 1976 TV movie, The Million Dollar Rip-Off.
Known For
Knocked Up
(2007)
Alison's Mom
Girl, Interrupted
(1999)
Annette
Coma
(1978)
Diane
She's Having a Baby
(1988)
Joanna Kerns (uncredited)
Full Filmography
Acting
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman!
(1975)
Citizen (uncredited)
A*P*E
(1976)
Marilyn Baker
The Million Dollar Rip-Off
(1976)
Jessie
Coma
(1978)
Diane
Marriage is Alive and Well
(1980)
Meg
Mother's Day on Waltons Mountain
(1982)
Doris Marshall
A Wedding on Waltons Mountain
(1982)
Doris Marshall
The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.
(1984)
Pamela Saletta
The Rape of Richard Beck
(1985)
Anita Parrish
A Bunny's Tale
(1985)
Andrea
Stormin' Home
(1985)
Lana Singer
Love Struck
(1986)
Street Justice
(1987)
Catherine Watson
Cross My Heart
(1987)
Nancy
She's Having a Baby
(1988)
Joanna Kerns (uncredited)
Those She Left Behind
(1989)
Diane Pappas
The Preppie Murder
(1989)
Linda Fairstein
The Great Los Angeles Earthquake
(1990)
Dr. Clare Winslow
Captive
(1991)
Kathy Plunk
Deadly Intentions... Again?
(1991)
Sally
Voices That Care
(1991)
Self - Choir Member
Desperate Choices: To Save My Child
(1992)
Mel Robbins
The Nightman
(1992)
Eve
Shameful Secrets
(1993)
Maryanne Walker-Tate
Not in My Family
(1993)
Veronica Ricci
The Man with Three Wives
(1993)
Katy
Mortal Fear
(1994)
Dr. Jennifer Kessler
No Dessert, Dad, 'Til You Mow the Lawn
(1994)
Carol Cochran
Whose Daughter is She?
(1995)
Laura Eagerton
See Jane Run
(1995)
Jane Ravenson
Terror in the Family
(1996)
Cynthia Marten
No One Could Protect Her
(1996)
Jessica Rayner
Mother Knows Best
(1997)
Celeste Cooper
Sisters and Other Strangers
(1997)
Gail Connelly Metzger
Emma's Wish
(1998)
Emma Bridges-Mame
Girl, Interrupted
(1999)
Annette
At the Mercy of a Stranger
(1999)
Elizabeth Cooper
The Growing Pains Movie
(2000)
Maggie Seaver
All Over the Guy
(2001)
Lydia
Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers
(2004)
Maggie Seaver
Knocked Up
(2007)
Alison's Mom
Production
Directing
Data provided by TMDB