Birthdate: June 16, 1943; place of birth: New York City, New York. Jenny van Ark was born in New York. Her mom and dad were not in the movie business in any way.
It was while Joan was a teenager acting in Denver that she met Julie Harris, an actress. After that, their lives would never be the same again.
Julie told her to use a scholarship she had set up to go to Yale Drama School, which is generally thought to be one of the best drama schools in the world.
So, Joan Van Ark became only the second woman in the school’s history to enroll.
Harris wrote to the dean and asked him to come see me in person. According to Joan, “to cut a long story short,” her parents drove her to New Haven, Connecticut, to meet the dean, who gave her a grant.”The stars declared it.” Following this, Joan performed in the theater for a few years, but her real passion was in the field of television.
Joan was famous and successful in the entertainment business because of her roles in Temperature’s Rising, Spider-Woman, Days of Our Lives, and even one episode of Bonanza. She became famous, though, when she played Valene Ewing on the TV show Dallas in 1978. She ended up getting the most important role she has ever had in her career.
Joan appeared on Knots Landing, a show that was based off of Dallas but was written before it airs. This was the case because the show was thought to be so popular. Finally, the makers chose Dallas because it was the best fit for showing wealthy homes at that time. After that, Joan had to play the same part in Dallas instead of joining the group of Knots Landing’s show.
Well-known reporter John Marshall, Joan’s husband, was the one who finally got her to agree to the part, even though she was already working on two other projects. Once upon a time, Val Ewing’s mom was supposed to make her first TV appearance. There was a big surprise when Julie Harris was chosen for the part. From everyone in the world, this person was the one who meant the most to her.
Her story was told to Florida Today in 1984. She said she “held my breath” when the makers told her they had finally found someone to play her mother. “Oh my God, I asked myself, are they going to say Phyllis Diller or Zsa Zsa Gabor? Who is it going to be?” At that very moment, they told me it was Julie Harris, and I jumped through the roof. For some reason I couldn’t understand why they picked her to be my mother. They had no idea that we were friends at all.
Following 13 seasons and 327 episodes, Joan left the show one season before the final season aired. She knew that many people thought her leaving was because the show had been canceled, but she was excited to try new things. To quote her, “I have loved more than life the thirteen years that I have had on that show.” “[Knots Landing creator] David Jacobs is an important person in my life and has taught me a lot about many things.”
Regarding the show, Ted Shackelford is the other half of every breath I take, and he has a big place in my heart. For example, our family has been through weddings, deaths, and divorces together. I consider them family. I thought at first that leaving would be easy, but it wasn’t. Finally, Joan played Gloria Fisher on The Young and the Restless many years later.
John Marshall and Joan met for the first time in high school, and soon after, they got married. They’re very proud of their beautiful daughter, Vanessa Marshall, who works in the entertainment business already. Even though they are still deeply in love with each other after 56 years of marriage, the pair lives a very private life away from the public eye.
Joan has a net worth of $10 million and looks just as beautiful as the time she was seen out and about in Los Angeles, even though she is 78 years old. Three years ago, she was only seen paying for parking at a meter while wearing workout clothes and a ponytail.
The last time she was seen on TV, in 2017, in the movie Psycho Wedding Crasher, she shared the lead part with another actress.
In the last fifty years, Joan Van Ark has worked in the movie business. She just recently became a member of The Actor’s Studio for life. Wow, what a sign!