Joanna Kerns

Acting

Joanna Kerns

Born

1953-02-12 (73)

Place of birth

San Francisco, California, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

76 titles

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 Knoc…

Known for

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson poster
7.6

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962

The Love Boat poster
6.2

Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard the "Love Boat", where Gopher, Dr. Bricker, Isaac, Julie, and Captain Stubing try their best to please them, and sometimes help them fall in love. Things are not always so easy, but in the end, love wins.

The Love Boat

1977

Magnum, P.I. poster
7.3

A private investigator who works when he wants, lives in a beachfront estate in Hawaii, drives a posh Ferrari, runs up an unlimited tab at a swank bar, and charms attractive women in peril - that's the lifestyle of Thomas Magnum, aka Magnum, P.I.

Magnum, P.I.

1980

Chicago Hope poster
7.2

Chicago Hope is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It ran on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000. The series is set in a fictional private charity hospital in Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago Hope

1994

Hill Street Blues poster
7.6

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.

Hill Street Blues

1981

Charlie's Angels poster
6.7

Beautiful, intelligent, and ultra-sophisticated, Charlie's Angels are everything a man could dream of... and way more than they could ever handle! Receiving their orders via speaker phone from their never seen boss, Charlie, the Angels employ their incomparable sleuthing and combat skills, as well as their lethal feminine charm, to crack even the most seemingly insurmountable of cases.

Charlie's Angels

1976

Film credits

2000s · 4 titles

1990s · 20 titles

Girl, Interrupted poster
7.6

Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.

Girl, Interrupted

1999

The Great Los Angeles Earthquake poster
6.7

After a series of small tremors in Los Angeles, Dr. Clare Winslow, a local seismologist, pinpoints the exact location and time of when the long awaited earthquake--"The Big One"--will strike southern California. With this information, she must battle city officials to release this information to the general public. Also, she hopes that her family is out of harms way when the quake strikes. Subplots show how other families and people cope with the the tremors that strike before the impending "Big One."

The Great Los Angeles Earthquake

1990

Mother Knows Best poster
6.1

A woman urges her daughter to get married. And when her daughter does, she doesn't think that she made a good choice. So she goes out and hires a killer to kill her son-in-law.

Mother Knows Best

1997

Not in My Family poster
4.6

Veronica Ricci is bombarded by strange feelings and fleeting involuntary memories about her childhood after giving birth to her first child. She seeks help from her estranged sister and soon realizes that these memories connect to childhood abuse that the sister underwent. Based on a true story.

Not in My Family

1993

Terror in the Family poster
6.5

Fifteen-year-old Deena Marten wants the same freedom every teenager craves. But when she can't have her way, her rebellious temperament erupts in violence. Her parents, Cynthia and Todd, fear her new boyfriend, Garret, 17, is the cause. Distraught, Stephanie turns to alcohol, and Todd escapes in his work. They're unaware their Boy Scout son Adam, 13, sips from a vodka bottle hidden in his bedroom. And the problems in this dysfunctional family continue to worsen.

Terror in the Family

1996

Mortal Fear poster
5.5

Based on the provocative best-selling novel, a brilliant scientist finds the hidden link that can save countless lives, but when a crazed killer uses the same information to play God, millions are at risk. Dr. Jennifer Kessler is the one person who stands in the way of ultimate medical disaster. After witnessing one, then dozens of patients at her hospital mysteriously and unexpectedly die, her search for the truth leads her through a bizarre world of intrigue, passion and controversial secret medical research. As Dr. Kessler races against the clock to find a way to stop catastrophe, she finds herself up against an imposing and terrifying conspiracy implicating the entire U.S. insurance and medical system in the process.

Mortal Fear

1994

At the Mercy of a Stranger poster
6.3

When Thomas, a prominent doctor, hires a hitman to murder his wife, Elizabeth, the hitman decides to help Elizabeth after realizing she is not the person Thomas painted her to be. Together, they plot a way for Thomas to incriminate himself and get arrested.

At the Mercy of a Stranger

1999

Voices That Care poster
7.0

Behind the scenes making of the charity single "Voices That Care".

Voices That Care

1991

Shameful Secrets poster
6.4

A woman and her children seemingly live the idyllic suburban dream, but unbeknownst to their neighbors and friends, the kids are being brutally abused by their father who is unable to control his temper.

Shameful Secrets

1993

Desperate Choices: To Save My Child poster
4.2

Sixteen-year-old Cassie Robbins is a spirited teenage girl, who loves her father Richard and stepmother Mel and dotes on her six-year-old half-brother Willy. But her carefree, happy life is forever changed when she is diagnosed with leukeamia and her only hope of a cure lies in a bone-marrow transplant. However, when Willy proves to be a match, Mel is not-so-willing to allow her young son to undergo surgery as he nearly died the last time he was operated on after reacting badly to the anaesthetic. Mel and Richard now have to decide if it right to risk the life of one of their children to save the life of the other child. And of Willy's own rights in deciding if he should help the sister he hero-worships...?

Desperate Choices: To Save My Child

1992

The Man with Three Wives poster
8.0

A married doctor marries two other women and juggles a life with three wives.

The Man with Three Wives

1993

Captive poster
6.0

Paul and Kathy Plunk buy a small motel in a lonesome mountain region in Oregon. Their newfound tranquility is broken by a pair of guests who turn out to be wanted criminals on run from the police. They need money, so they assault the Plunks, force them to withdraw all their money from the bank. But the nightmare just begins as they take the Plunks and their baby with them as hostages.

Captive

1991

Sisters and Other Strangers poster
8.0

A woman (Joanna Kerns), at odds with her eccentric sister (Debrah Farentino) over a real-estate deal, becomes the prime suspect when the latter is found dead.

Sisters and Other Strangers

1997

No Dessert, Dad, 'Til You Mow the Lawn poster
5.6

A couple manages to quit smoking by using hypnosis, but then their children decide to use it to manipulate their parents into more submissive behavior.

No Dessert, Dad, 'Til You Mow the Lawn

1994

No One Could Protect Her poster
5.5

Fact-based drama about a smalltown rape victim who helps the police trap her attacker who has invaded her home again and again.

No One Could Protect Her

1996

Deadly Intentions... Again? poster
6.5

A doctor was sent to prison for the attempted murder of his first wife. When he is released, he starts to plan the death of his second wife whom he married before he was incarcerated.

Deadly Intentions... Again?

1991

Emma's Wish poster
5.0

A lonely retirement home resident obtains a magical ring on her 75th birthday which grants her wish to again be young. Awakening the next morning she finds herself to be 40 years old again. She leaves the home and takes a position as a housekeeper for her daughter, who does not recognize her.

Emma's Wish

1998

See Jane Run poster
6.5

Jane Ravenson finds herself in the middle of a grocery store with $10,000 in her coat pockets and no memory of her life or who she is. Her husband eventually finds her and she starts to believe that her family life is fine until she feels a deep, nightmarish paranoia that something is horribly and terribly wrong.

See Jane Run

1995

Whose Daughter is She? poster
5.6

Two mothers, one biological, one stepmother, fight for the custody and love of 13-year-old Andrea.

Whose Daughter is She?

1995

The Nightman poster
3.2

A drifter comes between an aging Southern beauty and her teenaged daughter.

The Nightman

1992

1980s · 15 titles

The Preppie Murder poster
5.6

This is the story of a young woman who was found dead. Now the police investigate, and evidence points to a man she was seen leaving a party with. Now when questioned, he claims that her death was accidental, as a result of rough sex. Now her family doesn't believe this, so they press the district attorney's office to try him for murder, but he has a good lawyer who plays his defense right down to putting the dead girl on trial.

The Preppie Murder

1989

She's Having a Baby poster
6.0

Jake and Kristy Briggs are newlyweds. Being young, they are perhaps a bit unprepared for the full reality of marriage and all that it (and their parents) expect from them. Do they want babies? Their parents certainly want them to. Is married life all that there is? Things certainly aren't helped by Jake's friend Davis, who always seems to turn up just in time to put a spanner in the works.

She's Having a Baby

1988

Street Justice poster
7.0

A forgotten CIA agent escapes after 12 years and returns to his corrupt New Jersey hometown.

Street Justice

1987

A Wedding on Waltons Mountain poster
5.0

Erin Walton is considering marrying her boyfriend Paul but her old boyfriend Ashley, who left for the war and married someone else, lived through his wife's death and would like to get Erin back, but Paul is not going to give her up so easily. Also Mary Ellen's boyfriend Jonesy who's a veterinarian is trying to establish a practice but everybody doesn't think he is competent. And Ben who has been minding the lumber business while their father's with their ailing mother in Arizona is having some problems and everybody's worried that he's digging himself a hole that he might not get out of.

A Wedding on Waltons Mountain

1982

The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D. poster
9.0

Marcus Welby is back, and he has a few problems. First he is trying to bridge the gap between an old friend of his who gave up practicing medicine in favor of being the hospital administrator, and his son who is now a doctor and who is currently treating and romancing a woman who has kidney problems. And one of his patients an expectant mother is in an accident along with her husband and her husband dies. She blames Mark and is refusing to bond with her new baby. And the hospital that he has been serving faithfully for years is considering letting some of their elderly staff members go and Mark is on top of the list.

The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.

1984

Mistress poster
4.2

A woman who's been having an affair with a married man who's been taking care of her. When he dies she finds herself with nothing. So she tries to rebuild her life but not without the stigma of being a kept woman following her.

Mistress

1987

Cross My Heart poster
5.3

A man and a woman go out on a "big" third date. He's ashamed to admit he just lost his job, and she's afraid he'll run away if he finds out that she has a kid. Small lies lead to bigger ones and the night gets crazy very soon.

Cross My Heart

1987

Mother's Day on Waltons Mountain poster
4.8

Mary Ellen marries Jonesy but they don't exactly have a good start.

Mother's Day on Waltons Mountain

1982

A Bunny's Tale poster
5.3

A dramatization of Gloria Steinem's undercover investigation of the working conditions Bunnies faced at the Playboy Clubs.

A Bunny's Tale

1985

Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade poster
NR

The seventh annual Walt Disney World Christmas parade.

Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade

1989

The Rape of Richard Beck poster
6.8

The tables turn for cynical police officer Richard Beck when he's viciously attacked by two homicidal crooks. Having never been empathetic toward the victims he's dealt with on a daily basis, Beck must now confront the tough system he was a part of. As he struggles to regain his status at work, he also must make sure those responsible for his attack are prosecuted.

The Rape of Richard Beck

1985

Marriage Is Alive and Well poster
4.7

A talented wedding photographer, at a crossroads with his own marriage, reflects on tales of past clients and the hope, adversity and romance that holy matrimony brings. Starring as the photographer, football great Joe Namath narrates the unconventional tales of three couples: Judd Hirsch and Melinda Dillon as a twosome who have married and divorced multiple times and who are on the verge of repeating their mistake; an anxious newlywed who prefers the "freedom" that living together allows; and Jack Albertson as an aging comedian who wants to marry his much younger secretary despite the disapproval of his son.

Marriage Is Alive and Well

1980

Stormin' Home poster
7.0

An aging motor-cross racer, already having lost his wife and daughter to his footlooseness and now about to have his semi-tractor cab repossessed, vows to make one last go of it on his bike in the race of his career.

Stormin' Home

1985

Those She Left Behind poster
6.7

Scott and Sue Grimes are a happily married and affluent young couple who are about to start a family together. Unfortunately, that plan gets turned completely upside-down when Sue dies suddenly and unexpectedly while giving birth to their daughter. Now in the aftermath, Scott not only has to deal with the loss of his wife, he also has the daunting task of raising his daughter all alone.

Those She Left Behind

1989

Love Struck poster
8.0

Love Struck is a 1986 short film directed by Richard Masur, starring John Simon Jones and Judge Reinhold. In this modern American romance, an awkward, lovable girl goes after her crush. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.

Love Struck

1986

1970s · 4 titles

Series credits

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson poster
7.6

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962

The Love Boat poster
6.2

Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard the "Love Boat", where Gopher, Dr. Bricker, Isaac, Julie, and Captain Stubing try their best to please them, and sometimes help them fall in love. Things are not always so easy, but in the end, love wins.

The Love Boat

1977

Magnum, P.I. poster
7.3

A private investigator who works when he wants, lives in a beachfront estate in Hawaii, drives a posh Ferrari, runs up an unlimited tab at a swank bar, and charms attractive women in peril - that's the lifestyle of Thomas Magnum, aka Magnum, P.I.

Magnum, P.I.

1980

Magnum, P.I. poster
7.3

A private investigator who works when he wants, lives in a beachfront estate in Hawaii, drives a posh Ferrari, runs up an unlimited tab at a swank bar, and charms attractive women in peril - that's the lifestyle of Thomas Magnum, aka Magnum, P.I.

Magnum, P.I.

1980

Chicago Hope poster
7.2

Chicago Hope is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It ran on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000. The series is set in a fictional private charity hospital in Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago Hope

1994

Hill Street Blues poster
7.6

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.

Hill Street Blues

1981

Charlie's Angels poster
6.7

Beautiful, intelligent, and ultra-sophisticated, Charlie's Angels are everything a man could dream of... and way more than they could ever handle! Receiving their orders via speaker phone from their never seen boss, Charlie, the Angels employ their incomparable sleuthing and combat skills, as well as their lethal feminine charm, to crack even the most seemingly insurmountable of cases.

Charlie's Angels

1976

The A-Team poster
7.5

A fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel work as soldiers of fortune while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit."

The A-Team

1983

Three's Company poster
7.6

When two single girls, Janet and Chrissy, need a roommate to share their Santa Monica apartment, they decide to offer a room to Jack, a man they find passed out in the bathtub after the going-away party for their last roommate. However, hijinks ensure when Jack must pretend to be gay in order to throw off the scent of the trio's conservative landlady.

Three's Company

1977

Quincy, M.E. poster
7.5

Los Angeles County medical examiner Quincy routinely engages in police investigations.

Quincy, M.E.

1976

Emergency! poster
8.0

The crew of Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 51, particularly the paramedic team, and Rampart Hospital respond to emergencies in their operating area.

Emergency!

1972

Starsky & Hutch poster
7.4

Streetwise Detective David Starsky partners up with a more intellectual partner, Kenneth 'Hutch' Hutchinson, to protect citizens and patrol the streets of Bay City.

Starsky & Hutch

1975

No artwork available
6.4

The Tony Danza Show was a daytime variety talk show that premiered on September 13, 2004 in syndication and was distributed by Buena Vista Television.

The Tony Danza Show

2004

Intimate Portrait poster
4.5

Intimate Portrait is a biographical television series on the Lifetime Television cable network focusing on different celebrities, which includes interviews with each subject. Among the people profiled were Grace Kelly, Natalie Wood, Carly Simon, Jackie Kennedy, Katharine Hepburn, Carol Burnett, Tanya Tucker, and Marla Maples.

Intimate Portrait

1993

Hunter poster
7.1

Hunter is an American police drama television series created by Frank Lupo, and starring Fred Dryer as Sgt. Rick Hunter and Stepfanie Kramer as Sgt. Dee Dee McCall, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1991. However, Kramer left after the sixth season to pursue other acting and musical opportunities. In the seventh season, Hunter partnered with two different women officers. The titular character, Sgt. Rick Hunter, was a wily, physically imposing, and often rule-breaking homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. The show's main characters, Hunter and McCall, resolve many of their cases by shooting dead the perpetrators. The show's executive producer during the first season was Stephen J. Cannell, whose company produced the series.

Hunter

1984

Laverne & Shirley poster
7.1

Best friends, roommates, and polar opposites, Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney work together at the Shotz Brewery in Milwaukee and keep each other's spirits up at home.

Laverne & Shirley

1976

Rhoda poster
6.3

No synopsis available yet.

Rhoda

1974

Switch poster
6.6

Switch is an American action-adventure, tongue-in-cheek detective series starring Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner, who work as private eyes, for a deceptive sting operation. It was broadcast on the CBS network for three seasons between September 9, 1975 and August 20, 1978, bumping the Hawaii Five-O detective series to Friday nights.

Switch

1975

The Wonderful World of Disney poster
6.9

Walt Disney Productions (later The Walt Disney Company) has produced an anthology television series under several different titles since 1954. The original version of the series premiered on ABC in 1954. The show was broadcast weekly on one of the Big Three television networks until 1990, a 36-year span with only a two-year hiatus in 1984-85. The series was broadcast on Sunday for 25 of those years. From 1991 until 1997, the series aired infrequently. The program resumed a regular schedule in 1997 on the ABC fall schedule, coinciding with Disney's recent purchase of the network. From 1997 until 2008, the program aired regularly on ABC. Subsequently, ABC continued the series as an occasional special presentation.

The Wonderful World of Disney

1997

Less than Perfect poster
6.7

Claude Casey moved up in the secretarial world of television news, from temp to the anchor's desk. After her boss hires her full time, Claude realizes she may be in over her head in this world of assistants fighting to get ahead. But Claude is determined to prove that though she may not be perfect, she's not going down without a fight.

Less than Perfect

2002

Growing Pains poster
6.5

Fatherhood has taken on a whole new meaning for Jason Seaver, who has assumed the chores of cooking, cleaning and minding the kids so that his wife, Maggie, can pursue a career in journalism after spending 15 years as a housewife.

Growing Pains

1985

CHiPs poster
6.8

Lighthearted look at the adventures of two Highway Patrol officers in Los Angeles. The main characters are Jon Baker and Frank Poncherello, two motorcycle officers always on the street to save lives.

CHiPs

1977

Street Hawk poster
7.0

Street Hawk is an American television series that aired for 13 episodes on ABC in 1985. The series is a Limekiln and Templar Production in association with Universal Television. Its central characters were created by Paul M. Belous and Robert "Bob" Wolterstorff, and its core format was developed by Bruce Lansbury, who had initially commissioned the program's creation. This series was originally planned for the fall of 1984, Mondays at 8:00PM Eastern/7:00PM Central. However, ABC executives changed their minds when the summer series Call to Glory did well, and Street Hawk was pushed to mid-season. Street Hawk made its debut on January 4, 1985 on ABC at 9:00PM Eastern/8:00PM Central and ran until May 16, 1985. Reruns aired on the USA Network on Saturdays at 10:00AM from 1990-91.

Street Hawk

1985

Hope and Gloria poster
6.3

Hope and Gloria is an American sitcom produced by Warner Bros. Television and aired on NBC from March 9, 1995, through June 22, 1996. The show was canceled after 35 episodes. It starred Cynthia Stevenson and Jessica Lundy, respectively, as the titular characters, both working in an office environment in downtown Pittsburgh. The program also starred Alan Thicke as a local talk show host and featured Enrico Colantoni in one of his first regular roles on television. The series was broadcast in Britain on ITV during the 1996 summer holiday, going out Monday to Friday for seven weeks.

Hope and Gloria

1995

V poster
7.8

Planet Earth is visited by an alien race. Initially, they seem friendly and kind, but over time, their intentions become quite clear. Their peaceful façade quickly turns, also showing their true colors and their real intentions...

V

1983

Eastwick poster
5.9

Three very different women find themselves drawn together by a mysterious man who unleashes unique powers in each of them, and this small New England town will never be the same.

Eastwick

2009

Aliens in the Family poster
7.0

A human single father is abducted by a spaceship and fall in love with an alien single mother. They return to Earth to marry and raise their blended family.

Aliens in the Family

1996

E! True Hollywood Story poster
8.1

E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and also well-known public figures. Among the topics covered on the program include salacious re-tellings of Hollywood secrets, show-biz scandals, celebrity murders and mysteries, porn-star biographies, and "where-are-they-now?" investigations of former child stars. It frequently features in-depth interviews, actual courtroom footage, and dramatic reenactments. When aired on the E! network, episodes will be updated to reflect the current life or status of the subject.

E! True Hollywood Story

1996

The Four Seasons poster
10.0

The Four Seasons is a sitcom, created and produced by Alan Alda and based on his feature film of the same name, that aired on CBS in 1984. The series centers on the friendship among three middle-aged couples.

The Four Seasons

1984

Blind Faith poster
6.4

Successful insurance salesman Rob Marshall, his bright and devoted wife Maria, and their three sons are the perfect American family. Then the nightmare begins. One night, Rob is attacked and Maria is shot dead. At first, Rob seems the a grieving widower. But, as incriminating secrets come out, he must prove his innocence before the judicial system-- and the horrified suspicions of his sons.

Blind Faith

1990

Behind the camera