Joan Severance, who was born on December 23, 1958 in Houston, Texas, began a modeling career at age 15 to earn money for college. Although her dreams of becoming a veterinarian got crushed after she realized she cannot afford the tuition fee, she continued her career in the entertainment industry and entered the Miss Houston pageant. While competing on the beauty contest, Joan Severance was discovered, signed by Elite Modeling Agency and immediately sent to Paris for work. Within months in France, Severance graced the covers of numerous international magazines, has worked for the top designers and has landed campaigns for Versace and Chanel.

When Joan Severance came back to the States, she moved to New York and quickly landed several big ad campaigns for brands, including Clairol, L’Oreal, Maybelline, Revlon, Breck Shampoo and Windsong perfume. After a high-profile editorial career, Joan decided to pursue a professional acting career and quickly landed an agent, a manager and several acting coaches. Six months of acting training was all it took for Joan Severance to be cast in the CBS series “Wiseguy” opposite Kevin Spacey. Director Arthur Hiller saw Joan’s performance in the show and hired her for his 1989 film “See No Evil, Hear No Evil.” She then appeared in several films, such as the 1989 film “No Holds Barred” with Hulk Hogan and the 1990 movie “Bird on a Wire” with Goldie Hawn and Mel Gibson.

Joan Severance is particularly good at portraying bad girls, such as her appearance in “Black Scorpion” in 1995. She has also co-produced the 1997 film “Matter of Trust” and the 1997 movie, “Black Scorpion II: Aftershock.” Other films Severance has appeared on include the 1993 made-for-TV “Lake Consequence,” the 1994 “Criminal Passion” with Anthony John Denison, the 1995 action flick “Payback” with C. Thomas Howell, the 2000 crime film “Cause of Death” and the 2005 drama “Taylor.”

In 1998, Joan Severance has also graced the small screen, appearing in Aaron Spelling’s “The Love Boat: The Next Wave” and “Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story.” She has also guest-starred in various TV shows, such as “CSI: Miami,” “One Tree Hill,” and “Mystery Woman.” In 2006, Severance was seen in the telenovela, “Wicked Wicked Games.”

Aside from a gourmet cooking degree from Roger Verge, Joan Severance has a Bachelors degree in Natural Health and is obtaining an N.D. degree as a Doctor of Naturopathy. Joan is developing a TV series, a talk show and two books dedicated to holistic and alternative lifestyles.