She started modeling from the age of fifteen.
Joan was signed by Elite modeling agency, Paris.
She graced the covers of all international magazines and landed campaigns for Chanel and Versace.
She also appeared in many print and television commercials like Revlon, Breck shampoo, Windsong perfume, Clairol, English Leather, L'oreal and Maybeline.
Joan Severance made her acting debut with the movie "Lethal Weapon" in 1987.
She acted in several movies like "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" [1989], "Bird on a Wire" [1990], "Criminal Passion" [1994], "In Dark Places" [1997], "Cause of Death" [2000], "Last Sunset" [2006] and many other films.
Joan made her small-screen debut with a guest role of Pauline in the television show "Mike Hammer" in 1987.
Later she made many guest appearances in popular television dramas such as "Murphy's Law" [1989], "Midnight Caller" [1991], "Red Shoe Diaries" [1992], "CSI: Miami" [2005] and many others.
Her breakthrough role of Susan Profitt in the television series "Wiseguy" [9 episodes: 1988] brought her fame.
Severance performed many recurring roles in several television sitcoms like "Profiler" [2 episodes: 1997], "The Love Boat: The Next Wave" [6 episodes: 1998], "One Tree Hill" [2 episodes: 2004] and "Wicked Wicked Games" [9 episodes: 2006-2007].
Joan Severance performed the role of Susan Davis in her first made-for-television movie "Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind" in 1991.
She also acted in a number of made-for-television movies such as "Lake Consequence" [1993], "Black Scorpion" [1995], "Frequent Flyer" [1996], "Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story" [1998], "Just Deserts" [1999] and "Mystery Woman" [2003].
Joan appeared in several music videos including Roxy Music's album "Flesh + Blood" and "My Only Love" and the Scorpions' song, "Rhythm of Love".
Joan Severance married Elite model Eric Milan. After seven years of happy married life the couple took divorce in 1984.
Her hobbies include fashion design, interior design, reading, writing, garden, cooking, entertaining and horses.
Joan Severance is passionate about purchasing houses and renovating them.
She owned a restaurant and a catering company in New York.