Barbara Ann Corcoran

 Barbara Ann Corcoran (born March 10 1949) is an American businesswoman, investor, speaker, consultant writer, syndicated columnist, television host, and author. The Corcoran Group, an NYC-based real estate brokerage, was founded by Corcoran. NRT bought it in 2001 for $66 million. Corcoran then left the business. Corcoran was among the first Shark Tank investors. She has appeared on every season of ABC's Shark Tank. In February of 2020, she had signed 53 deals. The largest of these was a $350,000 investment in Coverplay at 40%. Corcoran was born in Edgewater (New Jersey) as the second child of ten in an Irish-Catholic working class family. [8] Her mother, Florence, was a household worker. Her father, Edwin W. Corcoran Jr. was a bouncing from job to job during Corcoran's early years. Sometimes, the family relied on deliveries of food for free from a friendly local grocer. Corcoran recalls her father being a drunkard who sometimes treated her mother with condescension and disrespect, particularly after he had been drinking. Corcoran was a struggling pupil throughout her schooling. She later discovered that she had dyslexia. Corcoran entered in high school at St. Cecilia High School Englewood following her time at an Catholic primary school. Corcoran graduated from Leonia High School with a diploma in English, despite failing several courses during her first year of high school.