Joan Severance Bio
Joan Marie Severance (born December 23, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model whose career has spanned modeling runways in Paris, more than forty American television commercials, and decades of work in film and television. Born in Houston, Texas, she spent much of her childhood moving with her family before returning to the United States and signing with the Elite modeling agency. She transitioned to acting in the late 1980s and is widely recognized for her portrayals of femme fatale characters in action and horror projects, including small but memorable early roles in major studio films.
Over the course of her career, Severance has appeared alongside stars such as Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, Kevin Spacey, and Hulk Hogan, and she played a recurring villainess across an eleven-episode story arc on the television series Wiseguy. She later served as both star and co-producer on several sequels, demonstrating a willingness to take on responsibilities behind the camera in addition to performing in front of it.
Early Life and Background
Joan Marie Severance was born on December 23, 1958, in Houston, Texas. Her father worked as a systems manager for IBM, a position that required the family to relocate frequently around the world. In interviews, Severance has recalled that by the time she was eleven years old, she had lived in twelve different places. The family also spent time in Libya, but in 1967 they were forced to leave the country because of the Six-Day War, eventually returning to Houston.
Severance attended Westbury High School in Houston, Texas. At the age of fifteen, she began modeling in order to earn money for college, having originally hoped to pursue a career as a veterinarian. After entering the “Miss Houston” beauty contest, she was noticed by the Houston photographer Alan Martin, who introduced her to John Casablancas of the Elite modeling agency.
Path to Actress
Casablancas signed Severance with Elite and sent her on assignment to Paris, where she began a professional modeling career. She posed for publications such as Sportswear International and Vogue Paris, and during this period she met fellow model Eric Milan, whom she would later marry. Upon returning to the United States, Severance established herself as one of America’s top models, filming more than forty commercials and earning a daily rate of $7,500. She went on to model for fashion houses including Versace, Chanel, and Armani.
In 1986, at the urging of her friend Robin Leach, Severance began auditioning for acting roles. Her first screen credit was a small part in the 1987 action film Lethal Weapon. That appearance marked the beginning of a long career in which she frequently played femme fatale characters in low-budget horror and murder-mystery features.
Joan Severance Career
Early Career (1979–1986)
Severance’s professional career began in 1979 with modeling assignments in Paris and the United States. Within a few years she was working steadily for major fashion brands and appeared on the covers of the January 1990 and November 1992 issues of Playboy magazine. She also appeared in a six-page editorial and interview in the Spring/Summer 2011 issue of Genlux magazine.
Her transition to acting began in the mid-1980s when Robin Leach encouraged her to audition. She landed her debut role in Lethal Weapon (1987), which led directly to a series of supporting and leading parts in action and horror projects throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Breakthrough (1987–1999)
Severance’s first significant film appearance was in Lethal Weapon (1987), where she played a small but memorable role in the action franchise. The following year she appeared in the music video for the Scorpions’ 1988 song “Rhythm of Love.” In 1989, she was featured alongside Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder in the comedy See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and she played the love interest Samantha N. Moore opposite Hulk Hogan in the wrestling film No Holds Barred (1989).
Her most acclaimed television work came on the series Wiseguy, where she played the villainess Susan Profitt across an eleven-episode story arc opposite Kevin Spacey. The pairing was so well received that their characters were revisited in See No Evil, Hear No Evil. In the early 1990s, Severance played Samantha “Sam” Dooley, the Martian Belle, in two training videos for Virtual World Entertainment, working alongside performers such as Cheech Marin, “Weird Al” Yankovic, R. Lee Ermey, and Judge Reinhold. From 1998 to 1999, she starred as Security Chief Camille Hunter on the Aaron Spelling series Love Boat: The Next Wave on UPN.
Severance also built a strong portfolio of femme fatale roles in low-budget horror and thriller features, including Lake Consequence (1992), Criminal Passion (1994), and Payback (1995). She took a leading role in Roger Corman’s Black Scorpion (1995) and went on to both star in and co-produce the sequels Black Scorpion II: Aftershock (1997) and The Last Seduction II (1999).
Notable Works and Milestones
Among Severance’s most recognized works are Lethal Weapon (1987), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), No Holds Barred (1989), Black Scorpion (1995), The Last Seduction II (1999), the recurring role of Susan Profitt on Wiseguy, and her starring turn as Camille Hunter on Love Boat: The Next Wave. Her willingness to step into producing roles on the Black Scorpion and Last Seduction sequels stands as a defining milestone of her mid-career.
Joan Severance Family
Joan Marie Severance was raised in a family shaped by frequent international relocation because of her father’s work as an IBM systems manager. The family lived in roughly twelve different places during her childhood, including a stretch in Libya that ended abruptly in 1967 when they fled the country during the Six-Day War.
Severance married fellow model Eric Milan in 1977, after meeting him during her early modeling assignments in Paris. The couple separated amicably in 1984.
Personal Life
Severance has spoken publicly about being diagnosed with vitiligo at the age of eight. The condition primarily affects the skin around her eyes. Beyond her marriage to Eric Milan, which ended in divorce in 1984, she has kept much of her personal life private. Her career has continued into the twenty-first century with appearances in productions including Wicked Wicked Games (2006), CSI: Miami, One Tree Hill, and American Horror Story: Asylum (2013), and a 2014 appearance on Celebrity Wife Swap with Robin Leach.