An Exclusive Interview With
Joan van Ark
Joan van Ark was born in New York City, the daughter of Dorothy Jean, a writer, and Carroll van Ark, who worked in advertising and public relations. Her father named her after Joan of Arc because he was certain that she would become famous. Joan’s paternal great-grandfather, Gradus, was an immigrant from the Netherlands. Both of van Ark’s parents and her sister, Carol, were writers. She grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and also has two brothers and a sister. Van Ark was the second youngest student to attend the Yale School of Drama on scholarship; her mentor and Knots Landing co-star, Julie Harris, was the first. Van Ark got her professional start at Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater in Moliere’s The Miser, opposite Hume Cronyn and Zoe Caldwell, followed by Death of a Salesman at the same venue with both Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. After a season at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., she was cast in the national touring company of Barefoot in the Park, directed by Mike Nichols and recreated the role in the critically acclaimed London company and later on Broadway. Joan van Ark began 2013 by reprising her iconic character, Valene Ewing, on TNT’s smash Dallas reboot, a role she played for a combined 15 seasons on Dallas and Knots Landing. Also in January, the SPRING 2013
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