Cherie Johnson

Cherie Johnson
Born	(1975-11-21) November 21, 1975 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
Occupation	Actress, writer, film producer, Author
Years active	1982–present
Website
https://twitter.com/cheriejohnson75

Cherie Johnson (born November 21, 1975 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American actress, writer and film producer. She is best known for her roles on Punky Brewster (as Punky's best friend Cherie) and the long-running ABC/CBS situation comedy sitcom Family Matters, where she plays Laura Winslow's best friend Maxine "Max" Johnson for eight seasons (1990–1998).

In 2009, she wrote, starred and produced the independent film I Do... I Did!, playing Vivian. Johnson has so far produced eight films.^[1] In 2010, she made writer debut when she released her book Around The World Twice. In 2011, she released her second, writing Two Different Walks Of Life A Celebrity and a Average Housewife. Her third novel Peaches & Cream is available on amazon.com now. Her latest book Stupid Guys Diary is set to be released August 2013. She has several films yet to be released such as the romantic drama film Fanaddict, set to be released sometime in late 2013. Cherie will also feature in a Christian based film "Who Can I Run Too" spring 2014. Cherie has produced 10 films to date.

Background and career

Born in Pittsburgh, Johnson is of African American and Puerto Rican descent . Johnson's beginnings in show business are attributed to her uncle, David W. Duclon, a successful screen writer and TV producer who, early on, was known for his work on Happy Days in the 1970s. Duclon encouraged his niece's desire to act, and secured auditions and early screen appearances for her. In 1984, after two seasons as executive producer of NBC's Silver Spoons, Duclon successfully pitched a new pilot to the network about an orphaned young girl who is taken in by a curmudgeonly older man. The concept won the approval of NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff, who named the titular character, and series, Punky Brewster (after a girl he had known in his youth). Johnson was cast by Duclon in the role of Punky's (Soleil Moon Frye) best friend, the character of which was modeled and named after herself. Punky Brewster was an immediate success among young audiences, and Johnson continued as the fictional Cherie throughout the series' run (1984–1986 on NBC, and 1987–1988 in first-run syndication).

In 1990, Johnson was provided her next long-running TV role, when Duclon hired her to join the cast of ABC's hit sitcom Family Matters (which he had begun executive producing in 1990). Johnson played Maxine "Max" Johnson, the best friend of Laura Winslow (Kellie Shanygne Williams), appearing in the recurring role until the series' end in 1998. In addition to her starring roles, Johnson has made guest appearances on The Parkers, and performed a vocal guest role on The Proud Family. She has also appeared on Days of our Lives. In the early 2000s, Johnson began producing films. In 2009, she wrote, starred and produced the film I Do... I Did!, an original movie for BET. In 2010, she starred in the films Lights Out, Nobody Smiling and Guardian of Eden. She then signed on to appear in the romantic film Fanaddict, which was shot in 2011 and is slated for release later in 2013.

Writer

Her first novel, Around The World Twice, was released August 10, 2010. On April 14, 2011, Johnson also released a poetry book with her I Do...I Did! co-writer, entitled Two Different Walks of Life. Her sophomore novel was Peaches & Cream, and her newest book of diary entries Stupid Guys Diary was released August 2014 . Writing has become Johnson's second career choice; she is also the Executive Director for Dimez magazine, and a contributing writer for Temptation magazine and Glam Couture magazine, where she does a monthly article titled "Cherie Picking".

Other ventures

Editor and Co-host

Cherie is the Editor at Large for "Success News" and that she also has a column in "Glam Couture Magazine" called Cherry Picking about beauty products. She has a monthly column in Dimez Magazine, Temptation Magazine and co-host a sports radio show with Penny Hardaway and Charles Oakley which is thebottomlinesportsshow.com.^[1]

Personal life

Johnson joined Shadow Play Entertainment's literacy campaign, called "Take Time to Read", as the national spokesperson, sharing her thoughts on why reading is so important no matter what career people choose. She has said that favorite artists are Prince and Dr. Dre, and she is currently looking out for Dr. Dre's upcoming album Detox.^[2] Johnson has also stated that she is a big sports fanatic; her favorite team is the Pittsburgh Steelers, and she is a fan of NBA player Paul Pierce.^[1][2] During an interview, Johnson described herself as somewhat of a nerd and a homebody and that she loves to read, write, paint, eat and travel. She also stated she doesn't watch any TV or many movies, but she loves music and her family.^[1] She has also stated she is somewhat of a "Twitter-holic" and is often tweeting her manager, Elayne Rivers and responding directly to fans.^[1]

On September 22, 2013, Johnson and her boyfriend were stopped in South Carolina by sheriffs deputies who accused them of having drugs and handcuffed both of them before they realized they were wrong and it was in fact tea not marijuana and released them. Johnson and her boyfriend appeared on Jane Velez-Mitchell on HLN talking about their ordeal.

Community involvement

Cherie spends her free time working with many children charities and she is also on the Alzheimer's Association board.^{[1] [1]}

Filmography

Films

Writings

• 2010: Around the World Twice^[1][3]
• 2011: Two Different Walks of Life "A Celebrity and a Average Housewife"^[4]
• 2012: August 7 novel Peaches & Cream ^[2][5]
• 2013: "Stupid Guys Diary"

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cherie Johnson.

• Cherie Johnson's's channel on YouTube
• Cherie Johnson's on Myspace
• Cherie Johnson on Twitter
• Cherie Johnson at the Internet Movie Database