The Proceedings of the twenty-second session of the International Olympic Academy (1125 July 1982) contain a full version of de Varona's conference keynote speech, entitled "Partnership Between the Athletes and Organizations of the Olympic Movement.". On Donna De Varona's birthday. She was a founding member of the Women's Sports Foundation, and in 1975 she served on President Ford's Commission on Olympic Sports. Donna De Varona was born on April 26, 1947 (age 75) in California, United States. Selected awards: Winner of 37 U.S. swimming championships, 1960-64; gold medals in swimming, Pan-American Games 1963; gold medals, 400-meter medley and 400-meter freestyle relay, Olympic Games, 1964; Associated Press and United Press International Most Outstanding Female Athlete, 1965; Emmy Award, 1991; Gracie Award from American Women in Radio and Television, 2000, 2001; Susan B. Anthony "Trailblazer" Award, 2001; inductee: International Swimming Hall of Fame; U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame; Women's Sports Hall of Fame. De Varona in 1994 provided extensive coverage of the feud between American figure skaters Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan . Time for equality is long past due. Joanna is often described as having Mexican (from her father) and Irish (from her mother) ancestry. Their aunt is silent film actress Miriam Cooper. [9] Citing the importance of the letter to safeguard the integrity of women's sports, De Varona remarked, "I agree with the letter. Jason's Rib . . SPOUSE. Since her retirement from competitions in 1965, she has served five terms on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and has been appointed to Presidential Commissions under presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush. According to an article in Great Women in Sports, de Varona told a Women's Sports and Fitness writer, "I will always be an activist. De Varona covered her 12th Olympic Games in 2000 when she signed on with NBC for the Games in Sydney, Australia. Young Donna had been eager to play baseball with her brother and the neighborhood boys but was denied the chance due to her gender. de Varona's ability in the pool was readily apparent, since even as a young child, she had always been a strong swimmer. . Their aunt was silent film actress Miriam Cooper. La so hermana mayor, Donna de Varona, ye un famosa nadadora medayista d'oru olmpica, que gan 2 medayes d'oru nos Xuegos Olmpicos de 1964. Said de Varona: Not all men like sports and not all women hate sports. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). De Varona casually picks up a small sculpture and runs a finger over it as if she were brushing away a few motes of dust. Gracie Award, American Women in Radio and Television, for excellence in broadcasting; Honorary Doctorate, Gracie Award; Susan B. Anthony "Trailblazer" Award from University of Rochester; Albert Schoenfield Journalism Award; led the delegation accompanying US Women's National Soccer Team to, Overcoming Obstacles Achievement Award from Community for Education Foundation. Richard Kerns (1976-1985) . Still, de Varona believes the media gives women short shrift. Joanna Kerns is a director on ABC's A Million Little Things. Donna DeVarona net worth is $1.4 Million Donna DeVarona Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family Sister of Joanna Kerns. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. On the radio network's website, a press release noted, "Each week [de Varona's] commentary explores and highlights the positive stories of athletes, coaches and the people who support them. 22 Feb. 2023 . Donna de Varona was born in April of 1947 in San Diego, California. www.hissandpop.com/ (January 10, 2003). Phoenix, Arizona: Oryx Press, 1992. ." She has been an adviser to President Ford's Commission on Olympic Sports and President Carter's Women's Advisory Commission, and served five terms on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. She directed one episode of Growing Pains while starring on the show and got hooked. Heinrich was born in Pennsylvania, to a German father, John Adam Smith, and an American mother, Caroline Dietz, of German descent. As a little girl, Joanna grew up in the shadow of her older sister, swimmer Donna de Varona, who won two gold medals in the 1964 Olympic Games and became a network TV sportscaster. Growing Pains' Joanna Kerns Confessions of a Working Mom . The role of women and female accomplishments appeared, if at all, on the margins. Notable Sports Figures. A promoter of women in sport, in the mid-1970s, she joined Billie Jean King in establishing the Women's Sports Foundation. Learn how your comment data is processed. Updates? She also earned a second gold medal as a member of the world-record-setting U.S. team in the 4100-meter freestyle relay.[2][3]. THE OLYMPICS Contemporary Hispanic Biography. She had three siblings, one older brother and sister each and one younger brother. Meredith also introduced Kerns to Peggy Feury, under whom Kerns studied acting. Browse 145 joanna kerns family stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Joannas maternal grandmother was Lenora Kame Helwig (the daughter of Rhinehold Fisher Helwig and Ella Fisher Campbell). In August 2019, Kerns filed for divorce from Appleton. ." In 1960, when she was 13, she qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in that event. De Varona's sister, Joanna Kerns, (best known for her role as the . Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: The 1960s. ." Elizabeth was born in Pennsylvania, to Pennsylvania-born parents. "De Varona, Donna Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. In 1994, she married second time with Marc Appleton, a famous architect from Los Angeles. She became the worlds top female athlete with 18 world records, scoring covers on Look, Life and Sports Illustrated magazines.While still a teenager and thinking ahead, de Varona persuaded the powers that be at ABC to hire her as the first female sportscaster in the United States. Encyclopedia.com. Yahoo! Encyclopedia.com. Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. Summing up her goals in life, de Varona told Marty Benson in the NCAA News, "My passion is to see as many opportunities as possible for as many people as possible, all the way from the grass-roots level to the colleges.". Sports Illustrated, June 17, 1991, p. 78. In 1999 she was named as the chair of the organizing committee for the women's World Cup soccer tournament. Months and years lobbying Capitol Hill to get Title IX implemented taught her how best to puzzle out of a maze to achieve results.As a toddler growing up in California, de Varona was ever the explorer, so much so that her father tied bells on her shoes so he could find her as she wandered about. (February 22, 2023). I want to be part of that.As we cross into the open kitchen from the family room, de Varona hands me two glasses filled with water, no ice, as she plates two overstuffed sandwiches, one brimming with roast beef, the other with chicken salad, and leads me past a tower of newspapers on the counter into the dining room.Heres a simple diorama of how prepared she is, come what may. Swingin Chicks. Donna de Varona. Her father, David de Varona, who sold insurance, was a Hall of Fame rower and an All-America football player at the University of California who served as de Varona's first swimming coach. In 2000, de Varona sued ABC Sports for $50 million, saying she was fired because of her sex and age. She joked in an interview that she sent the casting crew a high school senior picture of herself and all of her grades, hoping to get the part. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. She enrolled in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and majored in political science. de Varona in 1961. . Donna De Varona: her birthday, what she did before fame, her family life, fun trivia facts, popularity rankings, and more. "[11], In 1986, de Varona graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). (February 22, 2023). The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. She has been writing commentary for Sporting News Radio, and working as a sports and organizational consultant for the ABC, ESPN, and Disney networks. Growing up, Kerns was constantly in competition with Donna. That was my test because I was just back at ABC and we were in a crisis situation with the problems of scheduling and snow. Age, Height, Par Claudia Jessie (House of Anubis) Age, Eye Surgery, Why did Louise Lombard leave "CSI"? She has since made a number of shorts,[5] and directed the sixth episode of Pitch, a sports drama on Fox. The two had worked together on the 1976 TV movie, The Million Dollar Rip-Off. As an alternate, she did not swim in competition. More information on Donna De Varona can be found here. www.hollywood.com/ (January 10, 2003). She stored that memory, which motivated her to fight for equality later. Hiss & Pop. She has an older brother and a younger brother, as well as an older sister. Swimming gave the spirited youth the outlet she needed. Kerns was born Joanna Crussie DeVarona in San Francisco, California. All Rights Reserved. She specialized in the difficult 400-meter medley, in which competitors swim four laps, each in a different stroke: freestyle, butterfly, breast stroke, and back stroke. Four years later she won two gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics. She loved the game so much that in elementary school, she chose the desk closest to the door so she could be the first one out on the field when the bell rang to signal the end of class. Embed. She won an Emmy Award in 1991 for her report on a Special Olympics athlete. 20 April 1947 in San Diego, California), two-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, founding member of the Women's Sports Foundation, and television sportscasting pioneer. So you would expect to meet an intimidating international woman of strong opinions, yet a first impression of her is anything but that. . AKA Joanne Crussie de Varona. Outstanding Women Athletes: Who They Are and How They Influenced Sports in America. But now, when they were about to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. She began her broadcasting career at age seventeen, when she was hired to be a part of a live telecast for the Senior Men's National Swimming and Diving Championships. . Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. Although the show was not well received by television critics, her part proved to producers that she was capable of acting as a leading lady. Donna de Varona, (born April 26, 1947, San Diego, California, U.S.), American athlete and sportscaster who, after a record-breaking amateur career as a swimmer, established herself as an advocate for womens and girls sports opportunities. A dedicated activist on behalf of women in sports, de Varona helped found the Women's Sports Foundation and has testified before Congress on issues related to women in sports. Showing Editorial results for donna devarona. Sister of Joanna Kerns. Collect, curate and comment on your files. Notable Sports Figures. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2002. When de Varona returned to the Olympic team in 1964, the 17-year-old had broken 18 world swimming records and ten American records while capturing two gold medals at the Summer Games in Tokyo. Salem was born in Pennsylvania. During the 1950s and the 1960s athletic opportunities for women, much less young girls, were few and far between. Janet Woolom nicely summarizes de Varona's lifelong contribution: "She had a profound impact on increasing opportunities for women in all levels of sports. I just went out, grabbed a crew, did spots and wrote stories. She had appeared on the cover of newspapers and magazines such as Life, Time, Saturday Evening Post, and Sports Illustrated. Like most colleges of the time, UCLA had no women's athletics department. Donna de Varona, Actress: Fighting Back. At age 13, Donna de Varona was the youngest member of the United States swimming team at the Olympic Games Rome 1960. She has held advisory positions to five U.S. presidents since 1966. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joanna_Kerns&oldid=1142232629, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking reliable references from January 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2009, Turner Classic Movies person ID same as Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Episode: Firehouse Quintet (Listed as Joanna DeVarona), Episode: "Something Battered, Something Blue", Episode: "The Importance Of Not Being Too Earnest", Episode: "The Benefit Of The Right Track", Episode: "The Slender Threads That Bind Us Here", Episode: "Happy Birthday, Bon Voyage, Goodbye For Now", This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 06:43. From 1978 to 1983, she worked for the NBC network on Sports-world and the sports segments of the Today Show. American swimmer who won two Olympic gold medals. An attention-drawing swimmer, de Varona was constantly defined as "unusually attractive" and appeared on the covers of Life, Time, Saturday Evening Post, and Sports Illustrated, as well as foreign periodicals. She also testified on behalf of Title IX legislation in front of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The San Diego native broke 18 world records by the age of 17, and won two gold . 2023 Getty Images. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. De Varona has been active in a variety of organizations and committees. In addition to her political work on behalf of women's sports, de Varona continues to work as a broadcaster for Sporting News Radio. Executive summary: Maggie Seaver on Growing Pains. "De Varona Accuses ABC of Bias." While de Varona continued to pursue her television career, she also began her work in Washington, D.C. as an activist for sports and fitness opportunities for America's youth. Actress Joanna Kerns and sister Donna DeVarona attend the Sixth Annual Television Academy Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on January 7, 1990 at 20th. Kerns stated in an interview, "Donna was the golden girl. Joanna Kerns (born February 12, 1953) 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. Sporting News Radio. Over the years, the Foundation has raised more than $30million to support its programs. She won two gold medals in the 1964 Olympics, and was one of the first women hired as a sports reporter for a major television network. Kerns grew up in the Santa Clara Valley in Northern California as one of four siblings (her sister is noted swimmer and sports commentator Donna de Varona). De Varona testified in 1972 in both the Senate and the House to help pass Title IX legislation, and she also supported the Amateur Sports Act of 1978. Her older sister, Donna de Varona, is a famed Olympic gold medal swimmer, who won two gold medals in the 1964 Olympics. Later Mike makes another inside joke which makes reference to his mom looking like Olympic swimmer Donna de Varona. Celebrity status and her role as the quintessential Californian mermaid had both positive and negative consequences for her. For this tandem success she was recognized as the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for 1964. Donna De Varona has a net worth of $1 . Restrictions: Now I want to see it happen for other people.". Gender: Female Race or Ethnicity: White . Her one marriage has lasted 36.2 years so far. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. de Varona, Donna Most recently, de Varona was appointed to the United States Department of State's Empowerment of Girls and Women through Sports Council by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Pemberton, Cynthia Lee A. The photographs picture de Varona and her husband, John Pinto, with their two grown children, John and Joanna, and with the likes of the Clintons, senators Ted Stevens and Ted Kennedy, Frank Gifford and Joe Namath, her actress sister Joanna Kerns and close friend Prince Albert of Monaco.Along the same wall as the medals are trophy shelves, overwhelming in their scope of awards: five honorary doctorates, silver Olympic order for leadership in the Olympic movement, outstanding radio commentator and sports journalism award. The sitcom, which was based on a 1981 movie of the same name, was about three couples who all lived under the same roof in California. Four years later she won two gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Her many TV movies include: Those She Left Behind, Blind Faith, The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake, Shameful Secrets, and No One Could Protect Her. Porter, David L., ed. In 1965 she became the first woman to cover sports on network television for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) program Wide World of Sports. Born Donna de Varona in April of 1947, in San Diego, California; daughter of David and Martha de Varona; married John Pinto (a lawyer and investment banker); children: John David, Joanna. 22 Feb. 2023 . Its my family. But even before the Olympics, the blonde de Varona had come to define swimming in America. When she was ten, de Varona entered the Far Western American Athletic Union (AAU) meet in California and finished last among ten contenders. Joanna says there was always a touch of sibling rivalry between the two daughters of insurance salesman David De Varona and his wife Martha. By the 1964 Olympics, however, she had become the best known woman swimmer in the world - she had set 18 world records in the interim and won innumerable was voted by both AP and UPI as the top . "We were still fighting that battle then. At only 13-years-old, Donna de Varona was the youngest member of the 1960 Olympic swim team, but she competed only in the relay heats. Donna de Varona is a born fighter. . Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. She is also President of DAMAR Productions, a marketing, consulting and events advisory company. Image of U.S. Olympic swimmers Donna deVarona and Cathy Ellis, California, 1964. De Varona, who remains active as chair of the Women's Sports Foundation's Board of Stewards, is still an honorary trustee for the Foundation. Born on April 26, 1947, in San Diego, California; daughter of Martha and Dave de Varona (an insurance salesman); sister of actress Joanna Kerns (who barely missed making the 1968 Olympic team in gymnastics); graduated University of California, Los Angeles, 1970; married John Pinto (a businessman). The CSTV documentary, which won a Cine Golden Eagle Award, focused on the impact of Title IX and how one recipient of a sports scholarship in America has been influential in changing attitudes and customs in the Middle East as well as within the International Olympic Committee. . de Varona won the event, and she also swam on the 4 by 100meter freestyle relay team that won a gold medal. Seeing that she couldn't compete for a college team, de Varona formally retired from swimming. In April 2000, de Varona sued ABC Sports, claiming an unlawful termination because of age and sex. When David injured a knee and switched to swimming, she followed him to a new sport. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: The 1960s. de Varona has served on special commissions for Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan and is a tireless spokesperson at international Olympic congresses. www.geocities.com/ (January 10, 2003). De Varona widened her scope by juggling roles as host, co-host, special reporter, and analyst during some of ABC's premiere events, and was the first woman to cover the Olympics on television, including six Olympic Summer Games from 1968 to 1996, and four Olympic Winter Games from 1980 to 1994. Contemporary Hispanic Biography. In 1991 de Varona won an Emmy award for her reporting of a story about a Special Olympics athlete. AKA Donna Elizabeth de Varona. February 14, 2016, Place of Birth: San Francisco, California, United States, Ethnicity: She was a trailblazer at age 17, the first female network television sportscaster. . She has an older brother and a younger brother, as well as an older sister. Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, July 19, 2002, p. K7770; February 25, 2003, p. K2941. Eventually, she found permanent work as an Olympic reporter with NBC and ABC. Sister. She has an older brother and a younger brother, as well as an older sister. De Varona is considered not only one of the fastest swimmers, but also one of the most versatile and best all-around swimmers. She and her older brother practiced swimming freestyle in the ocean and in public pools in Lafayette, California. *paternal grandfather Cuban [Spanish, Basque, more distant Portuguese andIndigenous] Amateur Sports Act. rcel.id = 'rc_' + Math.floor(Math.random() * 1000); She is a 1986 graduate of UCLA and the mother of two children: Joanna Pinto and John David Pinto. A consultant to the United States Senate, de Varona took a leave of absence from her pioneering television career to help with the passage of the 1978 Amateur Sports Act which restructured how Olympic sports are governed in the United States. Retrieved February 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/de-varona-donna. She and teammates Sharon Stouder, Pokey Watson and Kathy Ellis won the gold in the 400-meter freestyle relay, another record-breaking achievement at 4:03.8. Her mother, Martha (Smith) de Varona, was a retail sales associate. Three good online resources are the Women's Sports Foundation website at www.womensportsfoundation.org, the ISHOF website at www.ishof.org, and the Olympic Hall of Fame website at www.olympic-usa.org. During her swimming career, de Varona appeared on the covers of Life (9 Oct. 1964), and several other national magazines. But de Varona dominated women's swimming for the next four years, setting world records in backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. de Varona worked for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, did weekly reports for Sporting News Radio, and in 2000 and 2001 received back-to-back Gracie Allen Awards for excellence in broadcasting. She attended UCLA and majored in dance. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. I hustled everything myself. ." https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/de-varona-donna-1947-olympic-swimmer-sportscaster-activist, https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/de-varona-donna-0, https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/de-varona-donna, Retires from competitive swimming after Olympics, Named member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sport, Sits on founding board of Special Olympics, Appointed to President Ford's Commission on Olympic Sports, Named member of President Carter's Women's Advisory Commission, Promoted to ABC commentator, consultant, writer, co-producer to, Graduates UCLA with Bachelor of Arts degree, Appointed member of President Reagan's Olympic delegation to, Sues ABC for age and gender discrimination, Chosen senior advisor to U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) President; co-chairs USOC Government Relations Committee and joins International Relations Committee; advises ONDCP on anti-doping, Youngest member of U.S. Olympic team at Rome, Two gold medals at Tokyo Olympics; named Most Outstanding Female Athlete by Associated Press and United Press International; world record holder in 400-meter individual medley and 100-meter backstroke. 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Feury, under whom Kerns studied acting President of DAMAR Productions, a marketing, consulting and events advisory....