Joan Hannah grew up in Franconia, New Hampshire to a skiing family. Her father, Sel Hannah, would be inducted into the US Ski Hall of Fame in 1968. Joan Hannah competed for the US at the 1960 and 1964 Winter Olympics, and the 1962 and 1966 World Championships, with her most notable achievement a bronze medal in giant slalom at the 1962 Worlds. Hannah attended Bennington Mills College, and represented the Mammoth Mountain Ski Club. She was the 1959 North American giant slalom champion, and won six US titles in GS. She later became a ski instructor in Vail, before returning to live around Franconia.