Amy Jo Johnson

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Amy Jo Johnson
Born: October 6, 1970
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Occupation: actress, singer
Website: http://www.amyjojohnson.com

Amy Jo Johnson (born October 6, 1970 in Cape Cod, Massachusetts) is an American actress and singer. Her most notable roles have been as Kimberly Ann Hart, the Pink Ranger, in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Julie Emrick in the college drama series Felicity.

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[edit] Biography

In her early life, Johnson became interested in gymnastics and after training for years, decided to aim for the Olympic Games. 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.

She currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

[edit] Career

At the age of eighteen, Johnson left Cape Cod and moved to New York City in order to pursue her acting career. She attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute 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.

Johnson's first role was also her most notable to date, as Kimberly Ann Hart, the Pink Ranger, in the 1993 series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Her gymnastics background was a clear advantage for her in fight scenes, and the Hart character was also an accomplished gynmast like herself. Her martial arts skills were taught to her by many choreographers in the studio. The series achieved unexpected success and Johnson had a fair share of media exposure, both as the character and as herself. After she left the series in 1995, Johnson went on to star in the made-for-TV Disney Channel film Susie Q in 1996. In 1997, she participated in 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 in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, a 1997 movie in which her character temporarily turned evil after being sacrified to Divatox's fiancee Maligore.

In 1998, Johnson 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 WB 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 led Johnson 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 led her to star in the movie Sweetwater: A True Rock Story, a biography about the life of singer Nansi Nevins, whose band Sweetwater opened the Woodstock festival.

Johnson then took roles in a number of indie movies, namely Interstate 60, Pursuit of Happiness (making her one of the few Power Ranger actors to have appeared nude on film) and Hard Ground. She also had a role in the final season of the television crime drama The Division.

In 2001, Johnson dedicated herself mostly to music after her fellow MMPR co-star Thuy Trang's untimely death. She released her debut album, titled The Trans-American Treatment, and performs 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. She released another album titled Imperfect on March 2005.

In 2006, Johnson co-starred in Magma: Volcanic Disaster, a Sci-Fi Channel original made for TV movie. She played a college student who begged to go on an expedition. Johnson has also taken roles on ABC Family's original show Wildfire as famous jockey Tina Sharp, and appeared in the pilot episode of What About Brian. She has also taken on roles from two new independent films, "Veritas, Prince of Truth" and "The Islander". Most recently, Amy continued her run on What About Brian as Karen who was Brian's annoying girlfriend.

[edit] Discography

  • The Trans-American Treatment (2001)
  • Imperfect (2005)

[edit] Trivia

  • She has a tattoo of a butterfly on her left ankle, symbolizing freedom.
  • She volunteered in Bosnia three times in 1994. [citation needed]
  • Jennifer Garner once stated that fans often confuse her for Amy.
  • She detests the color pink, but tolerated it for her role in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, in which she had to put up with the color every episode.
  • She is an ardent supporter of Planned Parenthood.
  • Doesn't like that she will mainly be remembered as Kimberly, the Pink Ranger, because she has done so much as an actress that extended her range as an actor. In the I Love the '90s 1993 special, Amy states that being the Pink Power Ranger is something she would never live down.
  • Stated that Power Rangers was a great first job on The Sharon Osbourne Show for an interview when she was first brought into the cast of Lifetime's The Division.
  • Is the longest appearing female Power Ranger, while Jason David Frank was the male to appear for the longest time.
  • Asked to be let go of the cast of Felicity to grieve for her mother, who passed after the first year of the hit show's airing. J.J. Abrams brought her back to reclaim her character, Julie Emrick, for two episodes in the final season. She also appeared in the pilot episode of Abrams new TV show, What About Brian.

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Johnson, Amy Jo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION American actress and singer
DATE OF BIRTH October 6, 1970
PLACE OF BIRTH Cape Cod, Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
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