In 1960, the 13-year-old was the youngest member of the American team at the Rome Summer Olympics, but her specialty, the 400 meter, was not approved for women at that time. But now, when they were about to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Together with tennis great Billie Jean King and others, de Varona organized the Womens Sports Foundation. Showing Editorial results for donna devarona. Sports Illustrated, June 17, 1991, p. 78. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. "It took a lot of soul-searching," de Varona told People. De Varona covered her 12th Olympic Games in 2000 when she signed on with NBC for the Games in Sydney, Australia. Kerns is the third child of four. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The case was later settled out of court, and de Varona resumed working at ABC. So you would expect to meet an intimidating international woman of strong opinions, yet a first impression of her is anything but that. Donna De Varona will celebrate 76rd birthday on a Wednesday 26th of April 2023. [2], Growing up, Kerns was constantly in competition with Donna. (With Barry Tarshis) Donna de Varona's Hydro-Aerobics, New York: Fawcett, 1986. Joanna Kerns (sibling) DeVarona, Kurt . Joanna Kerns (born Joanne Crussie DeVarona) is an American director and actress. "It would have been much easier to walk away, but I felt I had to do it.". Caroline was born in Pennsylvania, to German parents, Michael Kappler and Caroline Ackerman. She wrote Hydro-Aerobics (1984), with Barry Tarshis. . This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donna-de-Varona, Athletes United for Peace - Biography of Donna de Varona Pinto, Donna de Varona - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). She served on two presidential commissions, Gerald Ford's Commission on Olympic Sports in 1975, and Jimmy Carter's Women's Advisory Commission. 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 women's and girls' sports opportunities. [8], In 2020, de Varona, along with 300+ women athletes and activists, signed a letter to the National Collegiate Athletic Association in support of an Idaho law that bans transgender women student athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. (b. She defeated the second-place finisher by a margin of six seconds and set an Olympic record. de Varona was raised in Lafayette, California, near San Francisco. In 1965, became the first woman on network TV as a sports broadcaster. She won an Emmy Award in 1991 for her report on a Special Olympics athlete. But even before the Olympics, the blonde de Varona had come to define swimming in America. De Varona in 1994 provided extensive coverage of the feud between American figure skaters Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan . Retrieved February 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/de-varona-donna. de Varona won the event, and she also swam on the 4 by 100meter freestyle relay team that won a gold medal. Hickok Sports.com. At the age of 17, she appeared on ABC's Wide World of Sports, becoming the youngest and one of the first women sportscasters for a national network. That's an attitude I'm always fighting to change. During the success of Growing Pains, Kerns began to star in television movies, where she played controversial parts very different from the beloved all-American mom, Maggie Seaver. 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. Sometimes that interview never gets on the air. Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, July 19, 2002, p. K7770; February 25, 2003, p. K2941. Encyclopedia.com. 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. She has also directed episodes of television shows including Dawson's Creek, Titans, Scrubs, Private Practice, Psych, Felicity, Grey's Anatomy, Privileged, ER, Ghost Whisperer, Army Wives, Pretty Little Liars, Switched at Birth, The Goldbergs, This Is Us, and Fuller House. Family: Her younger sister, Joanna Kerns, was an actress known for playing Maggie Seaver on the sitcom "Growing Pains." Donna De Varona father's name is under review and mother unknown at this time. www.hissandpop.com/ (January 10, 2003). "Making Waves: Olympian Donna de Varona Charges ABC Fired Her because of Her Age." Their aunt is silent film actress Miriam Cooper. [3][4], Kerns got her start in show business as a dancer before turning to acting. 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). Encyclopedia.com. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. . Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. Joanna Kerns Marriage, Affairs and Children. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. In addition to her television work, she continued to be involved in various efforts to promote women in sports. 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. De Varona grew up in Lafayette, California, near San Francisco, with her parents, David de Varona, an insurance salesman, and Martha Smith de Varona, a retail sales associate, and three siblings. Sports Management Careers Kerns was born Joanna Crussie DeVarona in San Francisco, California. Corrections? 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. As a swimming star, sports commentator, and lobbyist for women's sports, Donna de Varona has worked to widen the margins of opportunity: "I had my dream, and I achieved it. Ah, thats my Emmy, she says.De Varona has long been an advocate for the participation and recognition of the right of women in sports. ." Relationship history. This article will clarify Donna De Varona's In4fp, Husband, Pavement, Married, Sister, Age, Images, Net Worth, And Joanna Kerns, Family, Emmy lesser-known facts, and other informations. Discover Donna DeVarona's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. She is an actress and director, perhaps best known for her role of Maggie Seaver in Hier knnen Sie Inhalte sammeln, auswhlen und Anmerkungen zu Ihren Dateien hinterlegen. Unfortunately, her event was canceled and she did not compete. Joanna Kerns is a director and producer on The Good Doctor. She competed in the Olympic trials in 1968 and ranked 14th out of 28. Joanna tried swimming, but realized it was not her sport, so she switched to gymnastics. AFFAIR. The individual medley requires enormous strength, flexibility, and endurance; competitors must swim four 100-meter laps, one for each stroke, including backstroke, freestyle (crawl), butterfly, and breast. Especializada en estilo libre y mixta, gan la medalla de oro en los relevos mixtos de 400m y 4x100m SL en los Juegos Olmpicos de 1964 en Tokio, a la edad de 17 aos. Said de Varona: Not all men like sports and not all women hate sports. ." Her younger sister, Joanna Kerns, was an Actress known for playing Maggie Seaver on the sitcom "Growing Pains." Associated With. She remains a world record holder in numerous events, including the sport's most challenging one, the 400-meter individual. President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women), List of University of California, Los Angeles people, World record progression 200 metres individual medley, World record progression 400 metres individual medley, World record progression 4 100 metres medley relay, "PLUS: TV SPORTS; De Varona Ends Suit Against ABC", "Aurora Games: Albany to host international women's sports festival in 2019", "Martina Navratilova Supports Idaho's Ban on Trans Female Athletes", "Sports leaders seek to protect women's sports while accommodating transgender girls and women". She also followed the story to Norway, and covered the athletic events. Two years later, when the Summer Olympics were in Atlanta, de Varona anchored Good Morning America 's Olympic coverage, while broadcasting the days' results on ABC Radio. Gender: Female Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight Occupation: Swimm. https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/de-varona-donna-0, "De Varona, Donna https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/de-varona-donna-1947-olympic-swimmer-sportscaster-activist, Winters, Kelly "De Varona, Donna: 1947: Olympic Swimmer, Sportscaster, Activist At the 1965 men's Amateur Athletic Union national championships, she made her debut in swimming commentary for ABC's Wide World of Sports with Jim McKay. According to Wikipedia: Joanna Kerns is an American actress and director best known as Maggie Seaver on ABC's 1980s sitcom Growing Pains. Notable Sports Figures. De Varona's mother, Martha, was also warm and supportive of her interests. She worked tirelessly with Eunice Kennedy Shriver in the late 1960s to create the Special Olympics movement, which embraces children and adults with developmental disabilities. Other members of the winning foursome were Pokey Watson, Sharon Stouder , and Kathy Ellis . Athletic administrator The suit was settled out of court in 2002, and de Varona rejoined ABC Sports as a commentator and reporter. de Varona married John Pinto on 10 January 1987; they have two children. 1985) Marc Appleton ( m. 1994) siblings: Donna de Varona, David DeVarona, Kurt DeVarona. Select from premium Donna De Varona of the highest quality. https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/de-varona-donna-1947, "de Varona, Donna (1947) The 400-meter individual medley was approved for women swimmers at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and Donna de Varona won the gold in that event (her Olympic Trial time of 5:14.9 stood as world's best until 1967). Actress Joanna Kerns and sister Donna DeVarona attend the Sixth Annual Television Academy Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on January 7, 1990 at 20th. 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