Barbara Ann Corcoran

 Barbara Ann Corcoran (born March 10, 1949) is an American businesswoman investor and speaker. She is also a consultant, speaker writer, syndicated columnist, television host, and author. In 2001, she launched The Corcoran Group in New York City. She later sold the brokerage to NRT for $66 million. Then, shortly after she left the company. Corcoran is among ABC's original Shark Tank investors. To date she has appeared in each season of Shark Tank. Since February of 2020, she's signed 53 deals on the show, with the biggest being a $350,000 investment for 40% of Coverplay. Corcoran was born in Edgewater (New Jersey) as the second of ten children in a Catholic Irish working class family. Florence Corcoran's mom, was a homemaker. Her father, Edwin W. Corcoran Jr. was a bouncing from job to job throughout Corcoran's childhood. At times, her family relied on deliveries of food that was free from a local grocer. Corcoran remembers her father as one who sometimes drank too much and treated her mother with disrespect and sneer, especially when he was drinking. Corcoran was a struggle in school and later learned that she had dyslexia. Corcoran was a student at an area Catholic elementary school and started high school at St. Cecilia High School in Englewood. Corcoran was fluent in several courses her freshman year. She transferred to Leonia High School and graduated with a grade of D.