Joan Steffend

Joan Steffend says the seeds of her career were sown in the first grade, when she appeared on stage as a light bulb in the school pageant. Plays, summer stock and a stint at Warner Brothers Film Actors Workshop followed. Eventually Steffend began producing and anchoring the news in Duluth, Minn., and Minneapolis-St. Paul, where her work won an Emmy and other industry awards. In 1997 she became the host of HGTV's Decorating Cents series and specials.