Barbara Ann Corcoran

 Barbara Ann Corcoran was a businesswoman, investor and speaker from the United America. The Corcoran Group, an NYC-based real estate brokerage, was founded by Corcoran. NRT bought it in 2001 for $66 million. Corcoran then exited the business. Corcoran, one of ABC's original Shark investors, has been a part of each episode of Shark Tank. In February of 2020, she had completed 53 deals. One of them was a purchase of $350,000 in Coverplay at 40%. Corcoran was born in Edgewater, New Jersey, the second child of 10 in a middle class Irish-Catholic family. Florence Corcoran's mother was a household worker. Edwin W. Corcoran Jr. was her father through Corcoran's early years. Her family was sometimes dependent on food delivered by an artisanal local grocery store for free food. Corcoran recalls her father as a man who sometimes was a drinker and was rude to her mother and contempt, particularly after he'd consumed alcohol. Corcoran was a struggling pupil throughout her schooling. She later discovered that she had dyslexia. Corcoran was a student at a Catholic elementary school in her area and started the high school year at St. Cecilia High School, Englewood. Corcoran graduated from Leonia High School with a degree in English after having failed several classes during her first year of high school.