[3] Following the lead of her older sister, who performed under the stage name Sally Newland,[2] Joan attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Writer-director F. Hugh Herbert had adapted William Maier's 1949 novel Pleasure Island for the screen, and was looking for three authentic English lasses to play the ingenue roles.

He gave the approval for hiring Joan Elan and two other actresses, Audrey Dalton and Dorothy Bromiley, and escorted all three via BOAC from London to New York City on March 19, 1952.

[11] One interviewer described Joan as having "blue-green, slanted eyes" and "brown hair... close cropped like a boy's",[2] while another reviewer said she "looks like a sophisticated pixie".

[13] For the film's world premiere on March 20, 1953, Joan Elan and other stars were flown to Seoul, South Korea, where the showing was jointly sponsored by the Department of Defense and the USO.

[18] Joan herself may have had some reservations about continuing to work in America, for she enrolled as a voter for the first time in late 1953 at her parents residence at Tilford in Surrey, a status she would maintain for the next few years.

She also had a small role in her third film, MGM's colorful but leaden Restoration era swashbuckler, The King's Thief, where she played a shy Quaker girl.

Nominated for five Tony Awards (with a win for Julie Harris), the show lasted for 229 performances,[26] a six-month run that later led one commentater to describe Joan Elan as a "New York actress".

When the touring company was formed for off Broadway, Joan's part was taken up by Barbara Stanton, who also performed the role on the Hallmark Hall of Fame television adaption in February 1957.

According to John Conte, who acted as host and co-starred in some of the features, the rationale for the broadcast time was so that RCA (parent company of NBC) showrooms would have a color TV program to display for their customers.

[28] Joan Elan's English accent lent an air of authenticity to the show, which often adapted literary works in the public domain to reduce costs.

Her experience in filmed television led to her obtaining more parts in popular episodic shows, such as Perry Mason, Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, Rawhide, and Bat Masterson.