Barbara Ann Corcoran

 Barbara Ann Corcoran (born March 10, 1949) is an American businesswoman, investor and speaker. She is also a consultant, speaker, syndicated columnist, author, and television personality. In 2001, she founded The Corcoran Group in New York City. The company was sold to the business to NRT for $66 millions. Shortly thereafter, she exited from the business. One of the show's first "Shark" investors, Corcoran has appeared in the entire 12 seasons of ABC's Shark Tank to date. She has been involved in 53 deals since February, 2020. The largest was a $350,000 investment to provide 40 percent of Coverplay. Corcoran was born in Edgewater, New Jersey, the youngest of 10 children from a working class Irish Catholic family. Florence Corcoran's mother was an exemplary homemaker. Edwin W. Corcoran Jr. was her father. He moved between jobs and the next throughout Corcoran's early years. Her family sometimes relied upon free food delivery from a friendly local grocery store. Corcoran recalls her father as someone who was drunk sometimes and treated her mother with disrespect. Corcoran struggled at school, and was later told that she was dyslexic. Corcoran began in high school at St. Cecilia High School Englewood after having attended a Catholic primary school. Corcoran completed her studies at Leonia High School with a degree in English after failing several courses during her first year of high school.