On August 28, 2014, Joan Rivers stopped breathing during a routine throat procedure. She was put into a medically-induced coma after suffering from cardiac arrest. Two days later she was put on life support before passing away on September 4. She was 81 years old. Joan was a well-known comedian, actress, writer, producer, and TV host. She was a legendary pop icon whose career lasted for more than 50 years. Joan’s harsh and controversial sense of humor directed towards celebrities and politicians will never be forgotten over the years to come.
Joan Rivers grew up in Brooklyn, New York, with her older sister Barbara and her parents who were immigrants from Russia. She attended Connecticut College and graduated from Barnard College in 1954 with a Bachelor degree in English literature and anthropology. Joan began her show business career in stand-up comedy. Her first official debut was on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show. She appeared on many television shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show and Kraft Music Hall. She also was on Capital Timeline where viewers would call for her opinions. Joan released a comedy album in 1983 and won a Grammy nomination. In 1989, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Joan also won an Emmy award for her talk-show The Joan Rivers Show. She began to pursue an acting career, starring in several television shows and movies. Joan even had a one-woman show called Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress, and in 2010, her documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work was released. Joan was also a host on the popular show Fashion Police where she grilled celebrities on their outfit choices. She showed no mercy. Throughout her career, Joan wrote several books. Her most recent was Diary of a Mad Diva which was released in 2014.
Joan was married to producer Edgar Rosenberg in 1965. In 1986, they had a baby girl named Melissa. Melissa and Joan had a very close relationship and even worked together on television. They had their own show called Joan & Melissa. Despite all of her achievements in her career, Joan’s greatest love was for her daughter. At the end of the day, Melissa was the most important thing in her life.