Barbara Ann Corcoran

 Barbara Ann Corcoran (born March 10 1949) is an American businesswoman, investor speaking, consultant, syndicated columnist, author, and television personality. The Corcoran Group was a New York City real estate brokerage she established. NRT purchased it for $66million in 2001. Corcoran soon exited the company. Corcoran is one of ABC's first Shark investors, has been a part of each episode of Shark Tank. As of February 2020 she had signed 53 deals. One of them was a purchase of $350,000 in Coverplay at 40 percent. Corcoran, who was the second of 10 children from a working-class Irish-Catholic family, was born in Edgewater in New Jersey. [8] Her mother, Florence, was a household worker. Edwin W. Corcoran Jr. Her father was constantly changing jobs throughout Corcoran's career. Sometimes, her family depended on free food delivery from a nearby grocery store. Corcoran recalls that her father was an alcohol-dependent drunkard who often treated her mother with contempt and disrespect, particularly after the fact that he was drinking. Corcoran struggled in school, and discovered later that she was dyslexic. She was a student at a local Catholic elementary school before beginning high school at St. Cecilia High School in Englewood. Corcoran completed her studies at Leonia High School with a diploma in English, despite having failed several classes during her freshman years.