Her Face Seemed to Have ‘Melted’: How Joan Van Ark’s Appearance Life Changed after She Left ‘Knots Landing’

• Joan Van Ark was famous for her role in “Knots Landing.”
• She left the show after 13 seasons, but it will forever be her proudest career moment.
• Now the 80-year-old actress looks surprisingly different after being rumored to have undergone plastic surgery.

Joan Van Ark was famously known for her role in “Dallas” but her career kicked off after being cast for the show’s spin-off, ‘Knots Landing.”

Van Ark started acting at the Minneapolis Guthrie Theater, starring in “The Miser,” followed by “Death of a Salesman,” and many more. The actress was also the second woman to receive a scholarship and be enrolled in the Yale School of Drama.

The first and youngest woman to join the institution was Julia Harris, who also encouraged Van Ark to enroll in the school. Van Ark eventually started her television career and appeared in shows such as, “Temperatures Rising” and “We’ve Got Each Other” before getting her breakthrough on “Dallas.”

The actress went on to win multiple acting awards through her theatre performances, including the Theater World Award for her part in “The Rules of the Game,” a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award, and two Soap Opera Digest Awards.

But throughout the years, the actress’ appearance changed after she reportedly got some work done on her face. However, even in her 80s, she still has a thriving career.

After building the beloved character Valene on “Knots Landing,” Van Ark decided to leave after 13 seasons because she thought it was time to step out of her comfort zone.

Her departure was inspired by her news reporter husband, John Marshall, who left his job at KNBX Channel 4 after two decades to take on another at KCOP Channel 13, just to quit after a day and pursue other interests.

Van Ark explained that her husband took a risk when he moved onto another job, but when he realized it was the same as his previous one, he decided to let it go.

The actress departed the famous CBS show on good terms. She expressed how much her cast members were a big part of her heart and had greatly influenced her life and career.

“The people are my family; we have shared marriages, deaths, divorces. It’s far more difficult to leave than I thought,” confessed Van Ark. The show was a big part of the “Dallas” star’s life, and some of it mimicked her real life.

Her character Valene married a news reporter, and Van Ark’s real-life husband also had the same career. But their relationship started in high school, and their wedding was not close to Valene’s. The actress said, “Our marriage took place on a military base in Germany.”

The high school sweethearts welcomed a daughter, Vanessa Marshall, who also forged a career in the entertainment business. Vanessa became a successful voice-over artist and lent her voice to various animated films, television series, and video games.

Despite how much she loved playing Valene, Van Ark thought her character was boring compared to her and often asked the writers to add more parties and elegance to her life.

When Van Ark left “Knots Landing,” it also took away one significant storyline: the relationship between Valene and Gary. The change was felt so much on the show that Van Ark blamed herself when it eventually ended its run.

Moreover, the show she thought would be her next shot after “Knots Landing” did not take off as she hoped. “Well, it was my fault. I jumped over to NBC to do a pilot which did not sell,” confessed Van Ark.

Despite her leaving “Knots Landing,” Van Ark holds her stint on the show in high regard. In an interview on “Behind The Velvet Rope” podcast, she looked back at her time on the show and admitted it would go down in history as one of her proudest career moments. The show was incredibly successful, and she loved every minute of being on the set and playing her beloved character.

As Van Ark got older, the more different she started to look, with some media publications saying her face looked like a wax figure from how tight her skin and plumped her lips looked.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn, who did not work on the “Young and the Restless” star’s face, insinuated that she most likely had at least one facelift that made her jawline look sharper. Youn also pointed out her smooth forehead and lifted brow. The doctor advised people to stick to a bit of Botox here and there and stay away from invasive treatments.

In one of her public appearances, Van Ark’s face was reported to look completely different. She wore a brown suit with a white button-up shirt, but her heavy eye and face make-up distracted from her classic outfit. Van Ark had what looked like red-tinted eyebrows and matching eyeliner but decided to keep her lips colorless. She had her blond hair down and accessorized with black-heeled pumps and a gold clutch.

With each appearance, Van Ark’s transformation became more shocking. In 2020, it was reported that the actress attended the 40th-anniversary bash of “Knots Landing” and a witness claimed her face appeared to have “melted. It was also said that “Her lips don’t even look like lips, and her skin is a mess.”

Insiders thought it sad that Van Ark looked unrecognizable, blaming it on the amount of work she had done on her face. “Joan has gone and wrecked her face…The Botox, the endless rounds of fillers and facelifts and peels have left a frightening impression,” they added.

One source even revealed that Van Ark never truly liked how she looked, even as a young girl, so when she started making money, she tried to fix a few things. The insider added that she had a procedure done almost every time she was going to appear on camera.

The 80-year-old was spotted running errands in Los Angeles last year. This was the first time she was seen publicly in three years. Van Ark was getting out of her car, wearing a casual athletic outfit. She wore gray tights, a white long-sleeve shirt, and brown boots. She also had a white jacket wrapped sound her waist and her hair tied up into a ponytail.

After many decades in the entertainment industry, Van Ark is still active. She landed a few voice-over gigs, but her last on-screen appearance was in the 2017 film, “Psycho Wedding Crasher.”