Kristen Johnston

Early life

Kristen Angela Johnston was born on September 20, 1967. Johnston is the daughter of former Wisconsin Republican state senator Rod Johnston. She is of English and German descent. She grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from Whitefish Bay High School in 1985. Johnston earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drama at New York University.

Career

Johnston made her professional stage debut with New York's Atlantic Theater Company, founded by playwright David Mamet, where she appeared in many productions including As You Like It and Stage Door. She performed with the Naked Angels Theater Company in The Stand-In and Hot Keys, and with New York Stage and Film in Kim's Sister with David Strathairn and Jane Adams. For her performance in The Lights at Lincoln Center Theater, she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Supporting Actress.

A Carsey-Werner casting agent who saw her in The Lights recommended her for the role of Sally Solomon on the TV series 3rd Rock from the Sun. After numerous auditions in 1996, she won the part and starred on the show from 1996 to 2001, winning two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

She made her feature film debut in The Debt, winner of Best Short at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. In 1995, she played Kate in the film Backfire! She played Esmeralda, a sea hag in Thrill Ride, a family friendly film released in 2016. Her other television credits include guest-starring roles on Chicago Hope, Hearts Afire, and The 5 Mrs. Buchanans. She narrated Microscopic Milton on the Disney Channel. Her significant roles in commercially successful movies include Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas in 2000, Music and Lyrics in 2007, and Bride Wars in 2009. In 1998, she was a spokesmodel for the Clairol company.

Johnston appeared in the sixth and final season of HBO's comedy drama series Sex and the City. In the "Splat!" episode, her character, Lexi Featherston, an aging party girl, accidentally falls out of a window and dies (after saying, "I'm so bored I could die"), prompting Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) to reexamine her life. In 2005, Johnston was featured in six episodes of NBC's ER. In 2009, she was cast as Patsy in a proposed American remake of the British TV series Absolutely Fabulous. A pilot was filmed but it wasn't picked up to series. She had a recurring role in the 2009 season of Ugly Betty, and had a single-episode appearance as a dominatrix in the second season opener of Bored to Death.

She starred in the TV Land sitcom The Exes, which ran for four seasons from November 30, 2011 to September 16, 2015. She played divorce attorney Holly Franklin, whose former clients and friends live across the hall in an apartment she owns. Her memoir, titled Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster was published on March 12, 2012 by Gallery Books. The book became a New York Times best-seller.

In 2018, she began a recurring role as Tammy Diffendorf on the CBS sitcom Mom, and was upgraded to series regular for the show's seventh and eighth seasons (2019–2020). Her character Tammy is Bonnie's (portrayed by Allison Janney) foster sister and Tammy joins the group's AA meetings upon being released from prison in season 6. In an interview with The New York Post, Johnston described Tammy by saying: "She’s probably the dumbest smart person you’ll ever meet. She’s so many things at once. She’s a criminal, but she’s also innocent. She’s clumsy but also very sophisticated. She has no editing button and just says whatever she feels — and it’s usually the wrong thing."

In May 2024, Variety announced that Johnston was cast in Netflix's comedy series Leanne alongside Leanne Morgan. The series was created by Morgan, Susan McMartin and Chuck Lorre. Johnston plays Carol, who is twice divorced and is loyal to her sister, Leanne.

Public image

She appeared on the cover of January 1998 issue of Milwaukee Magazine. She topped the magazine's list of "The Most Intriguing Milwaukeeans". Johnston has also appeared on the cover of Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide. In 1998, she appeared in a television commercial for Clairol hair care products and voiced a commercial for Starbucks.

Philanthropy and advocacy

Through her nonprofit organization SLAM (Sobriety, Learning and Motivation), she mentors high school girls from New York City with addiction and self-esteem issues and has campaigned for the city to build a recovery high school.

Personal life

She dated actor Ryan Reynolds in 1999 and the two attended the film premiere of The Green Mile together.

In her memoir, Johnston discusses an addiction to alcohol and pills that began when she was in high school. She wrote that at the height of her addiction, she drank on average two bottles of wine per evening. In 2021, Johnston said she has been sober for 14 years.

Johnston said she was diagnosed with lupus in November 2013, which caused her to miss filming some episodes of her series The Exes. A character played by Leah Remini was introduced in season 3 to cover her absence.

Filmography

Film

Television

Podcasts

Stage

Awards and nominations

Autobiography

• 2012: Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster, Gallery Books,

References

References

1. Triggs, Charlotte. (January 19, 2009). "Bride Wars' Kristen Johnston: 'I Was Way Too Thin'". [[People (magazine).
2. "Kristen Johnston: Biography". [[TV Guide.
3. (2017). "Historic Whitefish Bay: A Celebration of Architecture and Character". Arcadia Publishing.
4. "Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster by Kristen Johnston".
5. "Kristen Johnston - Biography".
6. "Kristen Johnston Biography". TV Guide.
7. "The 39th Annual Drama Desk Awards presented by The Drama Desk at the Criterion Center Stage Right, Jun 05, 1994 – 1994 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Play". The Broadway League.
8. "Kristen Johnston".
9. "Kristen Johnston – Television Academy – Awards & Nominations". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
10. "Kristen Johnston on drugs, recovery, and 'Guts'".
11. (20 August 2009). "'Ugly Betty' scoop: Kristen Johnston in, Paula Abdul out!". Meredith Corporation.
12. "Bored to Death S2 Ep 1: Escape From the Dungeon!". Home Box Office, Inc..
13. "'The Exes' sends '3rd Rock' co-stars Kristen Johnston and Wayne Knight on a date".
14. Johnston, Kristen. (2012-03-13). "Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster". Gallery Books.
15. (2013-01-22). "Guts". Simon and Schuster.
16. Gelman, Vlada. (July 18, 2019). "'Mom': Kristen Johnston Promoted to Series Regular for Season 7".
17. "Exclusive: 'Mom' brings back Kristen Johnston as Tammy the would-be steak thief".
18. (2018-11-30). "'Mom' scene-stealer Kristen Johnston: I'm not subtle".
19. Otterson, Joe. (2024-05-09). "Kristen Johnston Reunites With Chuck Lorre, Joins Leanne Morgan Netflix Comedy Series".
20. Goldberg, Lesley. (2024-05-09). "Kristen Johnston to Star Opposite Leanne Morgan in Netflix Comedy".
21. "Amazon.com: Milwaukee Magazine, vol. 23, no. 1 (January 1998) (Kristen Johnston cover (Third Rock from the Sun)): People of the Year Issue; Sheepshead; Planet Brett (Favre) : Milwaukee Magazine: Home & Kitchen".
22. "Kristen Johnston - Other works".
23. Collins, Clark. (March 10, 2012). "Kristen Johnston talks about her drug addiction, her life-threatening illness, her recovery, and her new memoir, 'Guts'".
24. Johnston, Kristen. (July 19, 2013). "Turning Addiction Into a Sideshow". [[New York Times]].
25. (2012-03-05). "SLAM With Kristen Johnston".
26. "Kristen Johnston Fondly Recalls Dating Ryan Reynolds in the '90s: He's a 'Lovely Person'".
27. Napoli, Jessica. (2021-03-10). "Kristen Johnston talks her sobriety after 'very abusive relationship' with drugs, alcohol".
28. "Kristen Johnston Says She 'Married' Drugs After 3rd Rock from the Sun Ended, Calls Addiction 'Very Abusive'".
29. Johnston, Kristen. (December 17, 2013). "[Untitled]". [[Facebook]].
30. Blumm, K. C.. (December 18, 2013). "Kristen Johnston Diagnosed with Lupus Myelitis". [[People (magazine).
31. "Kristen Johnston: The scoop on her 'Absolutely Fabulous' return to TV".
32. Bullard, Alexandra. (January 7, 2023). "Long-lost AbFab American remake with Kathryn Hahn leaves Brits cringing".
33. (14 June 2023). "'The Righteous Gemstones' Is the Perfect Replacement for 'Succession' in Your Life".
34. (1997-06-09). "Kristen Johnston Takes a Baby Break from 3rd Rock".
35. Isherwood, Charles. (1998-06-29). "The Skin of Our Teeth".
36. Taylor, Markland. (2001-08-03). "The Smell of the Kill".
37. (2002-04-26). "Kristen Johnston Joins Stiles in Central Park Twelfth Night".
38. "Molly Regan Steps in for Ailing Kristen Johnston in London Love Song".
39. "Kristen Johnston Awards".
40. "Kristen Johnston".
41. "The 3rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".
42. "Kristen Johnston".
43. "The 4th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".
44. "The 5th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".