Joan Severance

• Name — Joan Severance • Birth Name — Joan Marie Severance • Born — 23 December 1958 • Birthplace — Houston, Texas, U.S. • Occupation — Actress, fashion model • Years Active — 1979–present • Website — www.joanseverance.com

Severance was born in Houston, Texas. Her father was an IBM systems manager who had to move frequently around the world. "By the time I was 11," said Severance, "we'd lived in 12 different places." She and her family also lived in Libya, but in 1967 had to flee the country because of the Six-Day War. They left the Middle East and returned to the United States, settling in Houston. Severance attended Westbury High School, and at age 15, started modeling to make money for college. Although she hoped to become a veterinarian, she could not afford the cost of tuition. After appearing in the "Miss Houston" beauty contest, she was discovered by Alan Martin, a local photographer in Houston, who introduced her to John Casablancas. Casablancas signed her up with the Elite Model Management and sent her on assignment to Paris. During this time, she met her future husband, model Eric Milan.

During her time in Paris, she posed for Sportswear International, Vogue Paris, and others. Upon her return to the United States, Severance became one of America's top models, filming over 40 commercials, and earning $7,500 per day. She has also modeled for Versace, Chanel, and Armani. Severance was also on the covers of the January 1990 and November 1992 issues of Playboy magazine, both featuring her in a nude pictorial. More recently, at age 52, she appeared in a six-page editorial along with an interview in the Spring/Summer 2011 issue of Genlux magazine.

In 1986, Severance began auditioning for acting bits at the urging of her friend Robin Leach. She made her debut in a small role in the first Lethal Weapon film in 1987. She was featured alongside Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder in the 1989 comedy See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and as Hulk Hogan's love interest, Samantha N. Moore, in the wrestling film No Holds Barred (1989). She also appeared in the Scorpions' music video for their 1988 song, "Rhythm of Love." Her most extensive role was a villainess for an eleven-episode story arc of the TV series Wiseguy; she played Susan Profitt, half of a brother/sister crime team (the other half was played by Kevin Spacey) to great acclaim. Their partnership was reprised in See No Evil, Hear No Evil. In the early 1990s, Severance appeared as Samantha "Sam" Dooley, the Martian Belle, in two training videos for Virtual World Entertainment alongside other actors such as Cheech Marin, "Weird Al" Yankovic, R. Lee Ermey, and Judge Reinhold. Severance often appeared in femme fatale roles in low-budget horror and murder-mystery movies, including Lake Consequence (1993), Criminal Passion (1994), and Payback (1995). She had leading roles in Roger Corman's superhero film Black Scorpion (1995) and its sequel Black Scorpion II (1997), and The Last Seduction II (1999); she also co-produced the latter two. From 1998 to 1999, Severance played Security Chief Camille Hunter on the Aaron Spelling-created television series Love Boat: The Next Wave on UPN. In 2006, Severance appeared in MyNetworkTV telenovela Wicked Wicked Games. She was also in shows such as CSI: Miami and One Tree Hill. In 2013, she was in American Horror Story: Asylum. In 2014, she was on Celebrity Wife Swap with Leach.

Severance married fellow model Eric Milan in 1977. They separated amicably in 1984. According to Severance, they "just grew apart". Severance was diagnosed with vitiligo when she was eight years old; the primary area affected by the disease is the skin around her eyes.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1979 — ABC Afterschool Special — Actress Exiting Limo — Episode: "A Movie Star's Daughter" • 1987 — Mike Hammer — Pauline — Episode: "Lady Killer" • 1988 — Wiseguy — Susan Profitt — 9 episodes • Max Headroom — Zik-Zak Hallucination Girl — Episode: "Neurostim" • 1989 — Murphy's Law — Alex Kovac — Episode: "All's Wrong That Ends Wrong" • The Hitchhiker — Jane Ambergris / Holly May Stillman — Episode: "My Enemy" • 1991 — Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind — Susan Davis — Television film • Midnight Caller — Norma Cheever — Episode: "Uninvited Guests" • Good Sports — Randi — Episode: "The Moody Blues Swing" • 1992 — Red Shoe Diaries — The Woman — Episode: "Safe Sex" • Tales from the Crypt — Rona — Episode: "The New Arrival" • 1993 — Lake Consequence — Irene — Television film • Johnny Bago — Reno Hubbertston — Episode: "Lady Madonna" • L.A. Law — Lauren Chase — Episodes: "How Much Is That Bentley in the Window" and "Foreign Co-respondent" • 1995 — Black Scorpion — Darcy Walker / Black Scorpion — Television film • 1996 — Frequent Flyer — Alison Rawlings • 1997 — Black Scorpion II — Darcy Walker / Black Scorpion • Profiler — Christine Logan — Episodes: "Venom: Part 1" and "Venom: Part 2" • 1998 — Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story — Paley — Television film • 1998–1999 — Love Boat: The Next Wave — Security Chief Camille Hunter — 23 episodes • 2003 — Mystery Woman — Mary Stenning — Television film • She Spies — Lauren Drake — Episode: "Love Kills" • 2004 — One Tree Hill — Cynthia Price — Episodes: "I Shall Believe" and "Suddenly Everything Has Changed" • 2005 — CSI: Miami — Sophie Townsend — Episode: "Money Plane" • 2006–2007 — Wicked Wicked Games — Anna Whitman — 9 episodes • 2013 — American Horror Story: Asylum — Marion — Episode: "Madness Ends" • Masters of Sex — Leona — Episodes: "Brave New World" and "Fallout" • 2016 — NCIS: Los Angeles — Mary Reynolds — Episode: "Glasnost"