Joan grew up in Butler, Pennsylvania, where her family had a car dealership and her mother was a musician. She studied dancing at the Bennington School of the Arts and was a former member of the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Joan's early career began on Broadway, making her debut in 1944 as a juvenile in "The Late George Apley". Five years later, she starred alongside Ray Bolger in "Where's Charley?", replacing Allyn Ann McLerie.
During her early years, Joan also appeared in various episodic radio dramas, including "Theater Guild of the Air". She received critical acclaim for her performances in the comedy "My Three Angels" and as Miranda in the American Shakespeare Festival staging of "The Tempest" in Stratford, Connecticut.
In 1959, Joan took on the role of the female lead opposite Jason Robards in "The Disenchanted", a Budd Schulberg/ Harvey Breit play about the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Although her career may have suffered due to blacklisting by HUAC or physical resemblance to Diana Lynn, Joan managed to maintain a relatively busy schedule on the East Coast stage throughout the 1950s.
However, by 1962, Joan seems to have lost heart and given up the profession. Apart from a few guest appearances in early anthology TV and a couple of forgettable teen movies, there was little else of note from this attractive and talented performer.
