Joan Ganz Cooney
Biography
Joan Ganz Cooney is an American television writer and producer who co-created Sesame Street and helped found Sesame Workshop, originally the Children's Television Workshop. Raised in Phoenix, she earned an education degree from the University of Arizona in 1951, then worked as a journalist and publicist before joining WNET as a documentary producer in 1961; her programs there won local Emmys. Chosen to oversee the creation of Sesame Street, which premiered in 1969, she became the first executive director of the Children's Television Workshop. Her appointment as one of American television's first female executives was described as a major television development of the decade. She led the workshop until 1990 and then chaired its executive board, while holding board and trustee roles for many organizations and receiving numerous awards and honorary degrees. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center was established by Sesame Workshop in 2007.
96years old
Turns 97 on November 30in 20 days
- Born Phoenix
- Star sign: SagittariusThe sign runs November 22 to December 21
- Also credited as Joan Ganz
Movie Career
- Films
- 3
- Career span
- 10 years2011 to 2021
Every film, newest first
- 2021Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame StreetIMDb rating 8.0
- 2014I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney StoryIMDb rating 7.5
- 2011Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's JourneyIMDb rating 7.6
Genres
Share
Joan Ganz Cooney movies on Netflix
Most often with
Three actors appear in three of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Frank Oz's page
Jim Henson's page
Fran Brill's page
Caroll Spinney's page
Emilio Delgado's page
Jon Stone's page
Awards
Eight awards and honors from 1975 to 2010, one of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmy Awards | |||
| 1990 | International Emmy Founders Award | Won | |
| Other honors | |||
| 2010 | Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community | Won | |
| 2003 | National Humanities Medal | Won | |
| 1998 | National Women's Hall of Fame | Won | |
| 1995 | Bower Award for Business Leadership | Won | |
| 1995 | Presidential Medal of Freedom | Won | |
| 1985 | Honorary doctor of the University of Miami | Honorary | |
| 1975 | Ladies' Home Journal Women of the Year | Won | |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.