Amy Jo Johnson
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Amy Jo Johnson (born October 6 1970) is an actress and entertainer. She was born in the United States of America, in the state of Massachusetts, and her most notable roles have been those of Kimberly Ann Hart on the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and of Julie Emrick on the teen drama series Felicity.
Biography
In her early life, Johnson became interested in gymnastics and, after training for years, decided to aim for the Olympics. She eventually reached Class One - the highest status in gymnastics - and participated in competitions hosted both in the United States and in Europe, but was forced to abandon her career as a professional gymnast due to a severe injury.
At the age of 18, she left her home town, Cape Cod, and moved to New York, in order to pursue her acting career. She attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute (see Lee Strasberg) and the American Musical and Acting Academy. When Johnson felt comfortable with her skills, she left for Los Angeles to audition for her first part.
Her gymnastics background was a clear advantage for her in being chosen for the role of Kimberly Ann Hart in the Power Rangers series (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), in its first 3 seasons 1993-1995. The series achieved unexpected success and Johnson had a fair share of media exposure, both as the character of Kimberly Hart and as herself. After her character left the series, she went on to star in the indie film Susie Q in 1996. In 1997 she participated in the NBC's adaptation of Lois Duncan's novel Killing Mr. Griffin, and also played a bulimic gymnast in the movie Perfect Body. She also reprised her role as Kimberly Hart for perhaps the last time in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, as her character was turned evil after being sacrified to Divatox's fiancee, Maligore.
In 1998, she played the part of a vampire in the cult indie movie Cold Hearts. Soon after, she was invited to play the second most notable role of her acting career: Julie Emrick, a college freshman who becomes the best friend of the lead actress of the Warner Brothers series Felicity. She was in the series for two and a half years.
Her character in the series was originally cast as a dancer, but Johnson managed to convince the producers to turn the role into that of a singer and guitarist, which eventually lead her to being able to play a song of her own composition, entitled Puddle of Grace. The song was added to the show's official soundtrack. Her talent in music also lead her to star in the movie Sweetwater: A True Rock Story, a biography about the life of Nansi Nevins, lead singer from the band that opened the Woodstock festival, Sweetwater.
Johnson then took roles in a number of indie movies, namely Interstate 60, Pursuit of Happiness (in her sole nude scene) and Hard Ground. She also had a role in the final season of the television crime drama The Division.
As of 2001, she has dedicated herself mostly to music, releasing her debut album, titled The Trans-American Treatment and performing live in the Los Angeles area alongside The Amy Jo Johnson Band. She later dropped the band, and limited the instrumental presence in her shows to her acoustic guitar and her voice.
In 2002 she played a bit role in the film Interstate 60 as a seducturess on the mythical Interstate 60.
Trivia
- She likes to watch classic sitcoms like "All in the Family," "Mary Tyler Moore" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show", as well as more modern shows like "American Idol" and "Sex and the City."
- Is producing a movie: "In Memory of My Father"
- She has a tattoo of a butterfly on her left ankle, symbolising freedom.
- Her favourite ice cream flavour is Heath Bar Crunch.
- Has a pitbull named Lucy.
- She volunteered in Bosnia 3 times in 1994
- Her life motto is "Grow enough to be consistently happy"
- Likes to paint - pixies and fairies in particular
- Has played characters like an anorexic, a rock star with a drug problem and a valley girl that later became a Power Ranger
- Has gone on record in "I Love the 90s" as never going to be able to live down her role in Power Rangers
- She and her character, Kimberly Hart, bear striking resemblance to [1]'s character, Casie Hart.
- She dislikes the colour pink, but tolerated it for her role on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
- Jennifer Garner once stated that fans often confuse her for Amy.
External links
- Amy Jo Johnson's official website
- Sweet Amy Jo - 'The largest Amy Jo Johnson fansite'
- Amy Jo Johnson at the Internet Movie Database