Barbara Ann Corcoran

 Barbara Ann Corcoran, born March 10, 1949, is an American businesswoman and investor. She is also a public speaker and consultant, a speaker, columnist syndicated writer, author and television personality. The Corcoran Group is a New York-based real estate brokerage. In 2001, it was transferred to NRT at $66 million. Corcoran quit the firm shortly thereafter. One of the show's first "Shark" investors, Corcoran has appeared in the entire 12 seasons of ABC's Shark Tank until now. She has participated in 53 deals as of February, 2020. The largest was a $350,000 investment that will cover 40 percent of Coverplay. Corcoran is the second of 10 children from a Catholic family with a low-income, was born in Edgewater in New Jersey.  Her mother, Florence, was a homemaker. Edwin W. Corcoran Jr. was her father through Corcoran's childhood. The family depended on food delivery services for free from the local grocer. Corcoran recalls her father, who was a drunk at times excessively, and treated her mother with disrespect and condescendingly, especially after he'd consumed some drinks. Corcoran was a struggle throughout her education before discovering that she had dyslexia. Corcoran attended an Catholic elementary school and then enrolled in high school in Englewood at St. Cecilia High School. Corcoran completed her studies at Leonia High School with a diploma in English, despite not completing several classes in her first year of high school.