LaVelda Fann: Age, Net Worth, Career and Bio

LaVelda Fann is an American actress, producer, and former beauty queen, born on August 16, 1960, in Gadsden, Alabama. Now 65, she is best known as the former wife of legendary television actor Robert Conrad, star of The Wild Wild West and Baa Baa Black Sheep, with whom she shared a 33-year relationship from 1977 until their 2010 divorce. She won the Miss National Teen-Ager title in 1977 at age 17, appeared in several television productions alongside Conrad during the 1990s and early 2000s, and has operated her own Los Angeles production company, FannHaven Productions LLC, since 2007.

Quick Bio

Who is LaVelda Fann?

LaVelda Fann is an American actress, producer, and former beauty queen from Gadsden, Alabama, best known for her three-decade relationship with television actor Robert Conrad and her television appearances in Conrad-produced projects during the 1990s.

Born on August 16, 1960, she won the Miss National Teen-Ager title in 1977 at age 17, where she first encountered Robert Conrad, who was serving as the pageant’s emcee. Conrad was already established as a major television star, primarily through The Wild Wild West (1965 to 1969) and Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976 to 1978). The two married in 1977 and built a family life centred on Bear Valley, California, a High Sierra ski resort village where they raised their three daughters away from the Hollywood spotlight.

As a performer, LaVelda appeared in several productions connected to Conrad’s production work across the 1990s and early 2000s, including Sworn to Vengeance (1993), Search and Rescue (1994), High Sierra Search and Rescue (1995), and Dead Above Ground (2002). She founded FannHaven Productions LLC in Los Angeles in 2007, transitioning from actress to producer. After their 2010 divorce, she remained a figure in Conrad’s story through her daughters and her public tribute following his death in February 2020. Her profile is part of the broader coverage of entertainment-adjacent figures documented across the latest xxbrits biographies.

Early Life and Background

Childhood and Family

LaVelda Ione Fann was born on August 16, 1960, in Gadsden, Alabama, a small industrial city in northeast Alabama, and grew up in the state before entering the national pageant circuit as a teenager.

Gadsden in the 1960s and 1970s was a mid-sized Alabama city shaped by the textile and steel industries, with a strong Southern community character. Details about her parents, siblings, and the specifics of her upbringing have not been made publicly available. Multiple biographical sources confirm only her birthplace and the broad contours of her early life. Her entry into the Miss National Teen-Ager competition at age 17 represents the first documented public milestone, suggesting an early interest in performance, presentation, and competitive pageantry that developed through her Alabama teenage years.

Education

LaVelda Fann is confirmed to have completed college education, though the specific institution and field of study have not been publicly documented.

Her educational background preceded or ran concurrent with her early years with Robert Conrad following their 1977 marriage. The specific schools she attended in Alabama and any higher education she pursued remain undisclosed in all available biographical sources. Her subsequent acting career began in 1979 with a television appearance, and her production company work from 2007 onward reflects business and creative competencies developed across multiple decades.

Career Journey

Miss National Teen-Ager 1977

At 17 years old, LaVelda Fann won the Miss National Teen-Ager title in 1977, a nationwide American beauty and achievement competition that placed her on a national stage and directly led to her meeting Robert Conrad.

The Miss National Teen-Ager pageant was a prominent youth competition during the 1970s, combining personal achievement, public speaking, and performance elements. Conrad served as the emcee for the 1977 event, and their meeting at the pageant marked the beginning of a relationship that would define much of LaVelda’s subsequent public life. Some sources cite the competition year as 1978 in the context of the crown she received, with the ceremony taking place at the close of the 1977 competition year. The title gave her national visibility and is consistently identified across all biographical records as the pivotal moment of her early public profile.

Acting Career

LaVelda Fann’s acting career spanned roughly 25 years, beginning with a 1979 television appearance and running through her role in Dead Above Ground in 2002, with most of her screen work appearing in productions connected to Robert Conrad.

Her first credited acting role came in 1979 in the TV series A Man Called Sloane, in which she played a character named Linda alongside Conrad and actor Dan O’Herlihy. The series, a spy action show, featured Conrad as Thomas Remington Sloane III. Her next documented screen credits came over a decade later, during a concentrated period of Conrad family television productions in the early 1990s. She appeared in the TV movie Sworn to Vengeance (1993) as Wanda Monroe, in the series Search and Rescue (1994) as Lisa, and in the television movie High Sierra Search and Rescue (1995) as Lisa Peterson. The High Sierra productions were filmed in and around Bear Valley, California, where the family was based, and featured Conrad as the lead. Her final documented acting credit is Dead Above Ground (2002), in which she played Mrs. Wilson alongside Conrad and actors Corbin Bernsen and Stephen J. Cannell, directed by Chuck Bowman.

FannHaven Productions LLC

In December 2007, LaVelda Fann founded FannHaven Productions LLC, a Los Angeles-based production company, marking her transition from actress to producer and establishing her primary independent professional identity.

The company’s output and specific projects have not been publicly documented in detail, but its founding reflected a deliberate move toward the business and development side of entertainment. Biographical sources from 2007 onward consistently list FannHaven Productions as her primary professional affiliation, and multiple sources identify it as her main income source in the years following the Conrad divorce. The company bears her surname rather than Conrad’s, underlining the independence of the venture from the marriage. For parallel profiles of women who established production and business identities within the entertainment industry, the xxbrits voices archive covers a range of comparable careers.

Robert Conrad and Their Relationship

LaVelda Fann and Robert Conrad met at the Miss National Teen-Ager pageant in 1977, when she was 17 and he was 46, and they married on March 28, 1977, beginning a relationship that lasted 33 years until their 2010 divorce.

Robert Conrad, born on March 1, 1935, in Chicago, was one of American television’s most recognisable faces by the mid-1970s, built primarily on his starring role as James West in The Wild Wild West (CBS, 1965 to 1969) and Gregory “Pappy” Boyington in Baa Baa Black Sheep (NBC, 1976 to 1978). Their age gap of 29 years drew significant public attention at the time of their marriage. The couple chose to build their life in Bear Valley, California, a mountain ski resort community in the High Sierra with roughly 100 permanent residents, deliberately distancing their family from the Los Angeles entertainment circuit. Conrad was quoted saying of his wife’s commitment: “You’ve got to be into a guy to want to move with him and live this kind of life.”

LaVelda became stepmother to Conrad’s six children from his first marriage to Joan Kenlay, including Chris Conrad, Shane Conrad, Joan Conrad, and Nancy Conrad. Through the 1990s she appeared alongside Conrad in his television productions, blending her acting work with her primary role as mother to their three daughters. Conrad suffered a serious car accident in 2003, and LaVelda was reported to have been present and supportive throughout his recovery period. By the late 2000s Conrad was dealing with significant physical limitations, memory difficulties, and depression; multiple sources confirm LaVelda remained involved in his care during this period despite the deterioration of the marriage. The couple divorced in 2010 without public drama. Following his death on February 8, 2020, from heart failure in Malibu, California, at age 84, LaVelda paid public tribute to him. He reportedly said after the divorce: “I’d love to have a good woman in my life right now. I’d like to have one last love before I go.” His family spokesperson Jeff Ballard told People magazine: “He lived a wonderfully long life and while the family is saddened by his passing, he will live forever in their hearts.”

Net Worth and Income Streams

LaVelda Fann’s net worth is estimated at between $800,000 and $2 million as of 2026, with FannHaven Productions LLC identified as her primary current income source.

Her career earnings from acting, which spanned a relatively limited number of screen credits across 25 years rather than a sustained performance career, are supplemented by her production company revenues and any settlement or assets from her lengthy marriage to Conrad. Robert Conrad’s net worth at the time of his death was reported at approximately $2 million, a figure that reflected the financial pressures of his later years. Multiple sources note that LaVelda leads a modest lifestyle in Bear Valley, California.

Physical Appearance

Height and Body Stats

LaVelda Fann stands at 5 feet 8 inches (173 cm) and weighs approximately 132 pounds (60 kg), with brown eyes and dark brown hair, per multiple biographical sources.

Personal Life

Relationships

LaVelda Fann has not publicly remarried following her 2010 divorce from Robert Conrad, and no confirmed romantic relationship has been documented in any public record since that time.

The 33-year span of her connection to Conrad, from their 1977 marriage through the 2010 divorce, represents the entirety of her publicly known relationship history. Post-divorce she remained in Bear Valley, California, focused on her daughters and her production company. Her tribute to Conrad following his death in 2020 demonstrated the enduring personal significance of the relationship even after its formal end.

Family

LaVelda and Robert Conrad have three daughters together: Kaja Conrad, born 1983; Camille Conrad, born 1985; and Chelsea Conrad, born 1987, all raised in Bear Valley, California.

In addition to her biological daughters, LaVelda served as stepmother to Conrad’s six children from his first marriage to Joan Kenlay, including Chris Conrad, Shane Conrad, Joan Conrad, and Nancy Conrad. In 2019 she publicly shared a photograph of her three daughters, describing them as “the most glorious women on this planet.” Chelsea Conrad has pursued a career as a jazz-pop singer and runs a decor company called Circdeco. Camille maintains a social media presence and is known for her love of skiing. Kaja keeps a lower public profile. LaVelda has described herself as a devoted mother and expressed close bonds with all three daughters across her social media activity. Her travel and pets are also noted as personal interests across biographical records.

Achievements and Milestones

• Won the Miss National Teen-Ager title in 1977 at age 17 in a nationwide American competition.
• Married Robert Conrad on March 28, 1977, beginning a 33-year partnership with one of television’s most recognisable stars of the era.
• Made acting debut in 1979 in the TV series A Man Called Sloane alongside Conrad and Dan O’Herlihy.
• Appeared in Sworn to Vengeance (1993), Search and Rescue (1994), and High Sierra Search and Rescue (1995), all Conrad family productions filmed in Bear Valley.
• Appeared in Dead Above Ground (2002) with Corbin Bernsen and Stephen J. Cannell.
• Founded FannHaven Productions LLC in Los Angeles in December 2007, establishing her primary independent professional identity as a producer.
• Raised three daughters in Bear Valley, California, all of whom have pursued independent creative and professional careers.

Interesting Facts About LaVelda Fann

• She met Robert Conrad at the Miss National Teen-Ager pageant in 1977 where he was serving as emcee, one of the more unusual origin stories in Hollywood relationship history.
• She and Conrad built their family life in Bear Valley, California, a High Sierra ski resort village with roughly 100 permanent residents, representing a deliberate retreat from the Los Angeles entertainment world despite Conrad’s ongoing career.
• She became stepmother to six of Conrad’s children from his first marriage on top of raising her own three daughters, giving her a blended family of nine children across the span of the marriage.
• Her production company, FannHaven Productions, bears her birth surname rather than Conrad’s, signalling professional independence within a partnership largely defined publicly by his celebrity.
• Robert Conrad’s post-divorce comment that he wanted “one last love” before he died reflected the emotional weight of the separation, with the two having spent essentially LaVelda’s entire adult life together from age 17 onward.
• Her daughter Chelsea Conrad went on to build a dual career as a jazz-pop singer and founder of a decor company called Circdeco, reflecting the creative environment LaVelda fostered in Bear Valley.