Joan Van Ark was born June 16 in New York City and raised in Boulder, Colo. In her senior year in high school she met Julie Harris, who suggested that she apply for a sholarship to Yale Drama School. She was accepted and thus became the second women--Miss Harris being the first -- and the youngest person to attend the school on a scholarship.
Miss Van ark's first major break was a starring role on Broadway in "Barefoot in the Park." She has since appeared in Broadway in "The rules of the Game" and "The School for Wives," the latter for which she received a Tony nomination and a Theatre World Award.
She has appeared at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "Ring Around the Moon" and has also performed at Minneapolis' renowned Guthrie Theatre and the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. She won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for her performance in the Los Angeles Shakspeare Festival's production of "As You Like It." She also starred in the title role of "Joan of Arc" at the university of Colorado in her hometown of Boulder.
Miss Van Ark was a series regular on "Temperatures Rising" and "We've Got Each Other". She has made guest appearances on "Vegas," "The New Adventures of Wonder Woman," "The Love Boat," The Rockford Files," Rhoda," and "Quincy, M.E." and others. Currently, she is the voice of "Spiderwoman" on that animated series.
Her motion picture-for-television credits include "A Testimony of Two Men," "The Last Dinosaur," "Big Rose," "The Bionic Boy," "The Judge and Jake Wyler" and "The Red Flag." She has starred in one feature film, "Frogs," appearing opposite Ray Millan
Miss Van Ark is an avid runner who religiously logs 10 miles every day. She has competed in 17 marathons, including the most recent Boston Marathon. Some of her other favorite deiversions incluse horse hoseback riding, skiing and collecting antiques. She and her husband, KNBC News reporter John Marshall, have a duaghter, Vanessa, 10, and live in North Hollywood. She is 5'6", wheighs 110 pounds and has blonde hair and green eyes. |
