Amy Jo Johnson | |
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Born | Hyannis, Massachusetts, U.S. | October 6, 1970
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Years active | 1993–present |
Known for | |
Spouse | Olivier Giner (m. 2009;div. 2017) |
Children | 1 |
Amy Jo Johnson (born October 6, 1970) is an American and Canadian actress. As an actress, Johnson is known for her roles as Kimberly Hart on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , Julie Emrick on Felicity and Jules Callaghan on Flashpoint .
Johnson has directed short films including Bent (2013) and Lines (2014), along with two feature-length films, The Space Between (2016) and Tammy's Always Dying (2019). [1] [2]
Amy Jo Johnson was born on October 6, 1970, in Hyannis, Massachusetts, the daughter of Greig Johnson Sr., a car salesman, and Christine Johnson (d. 1998), a clothing store manager. She has two siblings, a brother and a sister. [3] Though born in Hyannis, Johnson grew up in Dennis, Massachusetts, and attended Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School. [4] As a child, she studied gymnastics.
Johnson moved to New York City at 18 to pursue an acting career. She attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She later moved to Los Angeles to audition for her first part.
Johnson's breakthrough role came less than a month after she moved to Los Angeles, when she was selected to portray Kimberly Hart, the Pink Ranger, in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , the first installment of the Power Rangers franchise. Despite the series being a huge success and having brought Johnson international recognition as an actress, the show brought her little financial security, as she and the others were paid only $600 a week for their work on the show, which included stunt work, and public appearances; none of the cast received any royalty payments from re-runs of episodes they appeared in. [5] During Johnson's time with the franchise, whose productions were non-union and not subject to safety codes standardized in union contracts, Johnson faced multiple instances of danger of physical harm; while filming Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie , she was almost set on fire during a stunt and, during Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie , she was almost electrocuted. [6] [7] Johnson ultimately made the decision to leave the show in 1995, passing the role of the Pink Ranger to Australian actress Catherine Sutherland. In an appearance on I Love the '90s , Johnson jokingly stated that having been the Pink Power Ranger was something she would "never live down." In later years, Johnson stated that becoming famous from the show was at times overwhelming and had given her nightmares, but that overall, she learned many things and is grateful to the show and her fans. [8] [9] [10] [11] In all, Johnson's character has appeared in 138 episodes in the franchise. She, alongside former co-star Jason David Frank, made a cameo appearance in the 2017 film Power Rangers, though not as a Power Ranger. In January 2023, Johnson announced that she had declined to reprise the role of Kimberly Hart in the 30th anniversary Power Rangers special, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always , on Netflix but that she wished the special and her former co-stars well while also saying that she had other fun things in store for her fans that year. [12] Two months later, she denied claims that money was the sole reason why she chose not to participate in the special. [13]
After she left the series in November 1995, Johnson went on to star in Disney Channel's Susie Q and in the Saved by the Bell: The New Class episode "Backstage Pass." In 1997, she starred in NBC's adaptation of Lois Duncan's novel Killing Mr. Griffin and played a gymnast with an eating disorder in Perfect Body . Johnson also participated in the film Without Limits . She also reprised her role as Kimberly Hart in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie .
In September 1998, Johnson was invited to play Julie Emrick in The WB series Felicity . She held a main role on Felicity for three seasons and was a special guest in its fourth and final season.
In the early 2000s, Johnson had roles in Interstate 60 , Pursuit of Happiness , and Infested, as well as television film Hard Ground . She also had guest starring roles on Spin City and ER . In 2004, she starred as Stacy Reynolds in the fourth season of The Division . In the latter half of the decade, she had recurring roles in Wildfire and What About Brian , and she starred in television films Magma: Volcanic Disaster on Syfy and Fatal Trust on Lifetime. In addition, Johnson took parts in a few independent films: Veritas, Prince of Truth and Islander.
Beginning in 2008, Johnson became a series regular on Flashpoint as Constable Jules Callaghan, a member of the fictional Strategic Response Unit of the Toronto Police service. [14] She was nominated for a Gemini Award for her performance. The show aired new episodes through 2012.
Since 2012, Johnson has had guest roles on a few shows including a recurring role as Hayley Price in the Universal spy drama series Covert Affairs .
Johnson has directed and produced two acclaimed short films: Bent (2013) and Lines (2014). [15] [16] She then went on to direct the feature film The Space Between . [17] In 2018, she began working on her next film, Tammy's Always Dying . [18] The movie received praise from critics, particularly for Huffman's and Phillips' performances. [1] [19] It is available at video on demand release on May 1, 2020. [20]
She is a member of Film Fatales, a non-profit organization that advocates for women's parity in the entertainment industry. In mid-2021, she announced she would be directing an episode of Superman & Lois for the show's second season. [21] [22]
Johnson is a singer-songwriter and has released three albums: The Trans-American Treatment (2001), Imperfect (2005), and Never Broken (2013). [23] She has performed in the Los Angeles area with the Amy Jo Johnson Band. In December 2007, she contributed guest vocals to Koishii & Hush's cover of The Cars track "Since You're Gone", which was released as a single. The song is also part of the album Souvenirs, released in 2008. [24]
Some of Johnson's music has been featured on television shows. Johnson's character in Felicity was originally described as a dancer, but with Johnson's input, the producers rewrote the character as a singer and guitarist. As a result, Johnson was able to perform her own song, "Puddle of Grace", on the show. This song was included in the album Felicity Soundtrack (1999) successfully released by Hollywood Records. As a result of the reception of the song, another Johnson song, "Clear Blue Day", was also featured on the show. In The Division , her song "Cat in the Snow" is the theme song from one of the episodes. In Flashpoint , her songs "Dancing In-Between" and "Goodbye" were featured. [25]
In 2013, she performed the song "God" in her movie Bent . [26] In 2014, her song "Lines" had featured in her short film Lines. [27] Her 2017 song "Cracker Jacks" was the theme song from the movie The Space Between . [28]
Johnson was married to Olivier Giner. The couple married in 2009 but filed for divorce in 2017. [29] They have one child, a daughter born in 2008. [30] Johnson resides in Toronto, Canada, and became a Canadian citizen on June 23, 2015, making her a dual citizen of the United States and Canada. [31]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie | Kimberly Hart | |
1997 | Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie | Kimberly Hart | |
1998 | Without Limits | Iowa's Finest | |
1999 | Cold Hearts | Alicia | |
2001 | Liars Club | Karen | |
Pursuit of Happiness | Tracy | ||
2002 | Infested | Jesse | |
Interstate 60 | Laura | ||
2006 | Islander | Cheryl | |
2007 | Veritas, Prince of Truth | Marty Williams | |
2011 | Summer Song | Jenni | |
2012 | Tiger Eyes | Gwen Wexler | |
2013 | Coming Home for Christmas | Wendy O'Brien | Direct-to-video |
2016 | The Space Between | Amelia | Also director, writer and producer |
2017 | Power Rangers | Angel Grove citizen | |
2019 | Tammy's Always Dying | N/A | Director |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1993–1995 | Mighty Morphin Power Rangers | Kimberly Hart / Pink Ranger | Main role |
1995 | The Eddie Files | Cindy | Episode: "The Counting Principle: Eddie in Barbieland" |
1996 | Saved by the Bell: The New Class | Linda | Episode: "Backstage Pass" |
Susie Q | Susie Quinn / Maggie | Television film | |
1997 | Killing Mr. Griffin | Susan McConnell | Television film |
Perfect Body | Andie Bradley | Television film | |
1998–2000, 2002 | Felicity | Julie Emrick | Main role (seasons 1–3); guest (season 4) |
1999 | Sweetwater | Nansi Nevins | Television film |
2001 | ER | Jill | Episode: "Partly Cloudy, Chance of Rain" |
Night Visions | Sara | Episode: "Rest Stop/After Life" | |
2002 | Spin City | Stephanie | Episode: "Sex, Lies and Video Date" |
2003 | Hard Ground | Elizabeth Kennedy | Television film |
2004 | The Division | Stacy Reynolds | Main role (season 4) |
I Love the '90s | Herself | 1 episode | |
2005–2007 | Wildfire | Tina Sharp | Recurring role (seasons 1–3) |
2006 | Fatal Trust | Kate | Television film |
2006 | Magma: Volcanic Disaster | Brianna Chapman | Television film |
What About Brian | Karen | 3 episodes | |
2008–2012 | Flashpoint | Jules Callaghan | Main role |
2013 | Cracked | Sydney Reid | Episode: "Night Terrors" |
2014 | Bookaboo | Herself | Episode: "The Talent Show" |
Covert Affairs | Hayley Price | Recurring role (season 5) | |
2019 | The Has Been | Jordanna | Main role |
2022 | Superman & Lois | Director | Episode: "Tried and True" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2013 | Bent | Amelia | Director & writer |
2014 | Lines | N/A | Director & writer |
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Teen Choice Awards | TV Star Choice Sidekick | Felicity | Nominated | [32] |
2002 | Slamdunk Film Festival | Best Actress | Pursuit of Happiness | Nominated | [33] |
2009 | Gemini Awards | Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | Flashpoint | Nominated | [34] |
2010 | Monte-Carlo Television Festival | TV Best Actress | Flashpoint | Nominated | [35] |
2012 | Monte-Carlo Television Festival | Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series | Flashpoint | Nominated | [36] |
2013 | Long Island Film Festival | Shelly Award for Woman Filmmakers | Bent | Won | [37] |
Toronto International Film Festival | Jury Award | Bent | Won | [37] | |
Women in Film and Television | Audience Choice | Bent | Won | [37] | |
2014 | Buffalo Niagara Film Festival | Best Canadian Short | Bent | Won | [37] |
Toronto International Short Film Festival | Best Comedy | Lines | Won | [37] | |
2015 | Buffalo Niagara Film Festival | Best Actress | Lines | Won | [37] |
Power Rangers is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise Super Sentai. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entertainment, later by Saban Brands, and today by SCG Power Rangers LLC and its parent company, Hasbro, the Power Rangers television series takes much of its footage from the Super Sentai television series, produced by Toei Company. The first Power Rangers entry, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, debuted on August 28, 1993, and helped launch the Fox Kids programming block of the 1990s, during which it catapulted into popular culture along with a line of action figures and other toys by Bandai. By 2001, the media franchise had generated over $6 billion in toy sales.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (MMPR) is an American superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the Power Rangers franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon along with a large line of toys, action figures, and other merchandise. The show adapted stock footage from the Japanese TV series Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (1992–1993), which was the 16th installment of Toei's Super Sentai franchise. The second and third seasons of the show drew elements and stock footage from Gosei Sentai Dairanger and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, respectively, though the Zyuranger costumes were still used for the lead cast in these two seasons. Only the mecha and the Kiba Ranger costume from Dairanger were featured in the second season while only the Kakuranger mecha was featured in the third season, though the Kakuranger costumes were later used for the mini-series Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers. The series was produced by MMPR Productions and distributed by Saban Entertainment, while the show's merchandise was produced and distributed by Bandai Entertainment.
Zachary "Zack" Taylor is a fictional character in the Power Rangers universe, appearing in the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. He is the first on-screen Black Ranger of Power Rangers. He would be succeeded as the Black Ranger by Adam Park. A reimagined version of Zack, now Chinese-American, would appear in the 2017 reboot film, played by Canadian actor Ludi Lin.
Dr. Thomas "Tommy" Oliver is a fictional character and the overarching main protagonist of the American live-action television franchise Power Rangers. He is best known as being the original Green Ranger and the first evil Ranger who fought and nearly defeated the original Power Rangers while under the control of Rita Repulsa. He was eventually freed from Rita’s spell and aligned himself with the other Power Rangers. He is a main character in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV series, as well as four of its successive incarnations Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, Power Rangers Turbo, and Power Rangers Dino Thunder. He also appeared in the Power Rangers Wild Force episode "Forever Red", the Power Rangers S.P.D. episode "Wormhole", the Power Rangers Super Megaforce episode "Legendary Battle", and in the Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel episode "Dimensions in Danger". He was portrayed by actor Jason David Frank in all of his appearances from the Zordon era until Saban Brands era's seasons of the franchise prior to his death in November 2022, with the exception of the episode "Wormhole", where he appeared only in Ranger form and was voiced by actor Jeffrey Parazzo. He was also infrequently portrayed by actor Michael Gotto in instances where the story required the character during childhood, such as in the series Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers.
Power Rangers Turbo is a television series and the fifth season of the Power Rangers franchise. The show was prefaced with the franchise's second film, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie.
David Harold Yost is an American actor and producer. He is best known for portraying Billy Cranston in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always and Power Rangers Cosmic Fury.
Thuy Trang was a Vietnamese-born actress based in the United States. She was known for her role as Trini Kwan, the original Yellow Ranger on the original cast of the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
Kimberly Ann Hart is a fictional character in the Power Rangers universe. Played by American actress Amy Jo Johnson during the first three seasons of the show, plus on the two feature films of the franchise, Kimberly has the longest tenure of any female ranger in the series' history, and fourth overall. She is best remembered as the first Pink Ranger (pterodactyl) and first Pink Ninja Ranger from the first entry of the franchise Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Kimberly was the Pink Ranger for nearly three years before she was written off the show as having given up her powers for good to Zordon's new pink ranger Katherine Hillard, to participate at the Pan Global Games in Florida. However, she would briefly return as the Pink Ranger on three occasions. She first returned during the Legendary Battle of Power Rangers Super Megaforce alongside former teammates Zack Taylor, Billy Cranston, Trini Kwan, and Jason Lee Scott. The five of them later fought alongside the Dino Thunder Rangers, Dino Charge Rangers, and the Grid Battleforce Rangers against Goldar Maximus in Power Rangers Beast Morphers. She also returned to fight a robotic version of Rita Repulsa with the other four original rangers and Tommy Oliver in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always. Johnson did not reprise her role for any of these appearances.
Catherine Jane Sutherland is an Australian actress. She is known for her portrayal of Kat Hillard, the second Pink Power Ranger and later, the Pink Zeo Ranger and the first Pink Turbo Ranger in the Power Rangers television series.
Trini Kwan is a fictional character from the Power Rangers franchise, first appearing in the original series as the Yellow Ranger. She was portrayed by Vietnamese-American actress Thuy Trang.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie is a 1995 American superhero film. It stars the ensemble cast of Karan Ashley, Johnny Yong Bosch, Steve Cardenas, Jason David Frank, Amy Jo Johnson, and David Yost alongside the villains cast from the original series and Paul Freeman as Ivan Ooze. Much like the television season that followed the release, it used concepts from the Japanese Super Sentai series Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, Gosei Sentai Dairanger and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. It is the first Power Rangers production from Saban Entertainment not to feature any archived footage from Super Sentai. It is the first installment in the Power Rangers film series. The film was released in between the second and third seasons of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but is incompatible with season three, which provides a different explanation for the Rangers gaining their Ninja Ranger powers and Ninjazords, indicating they are set in different continuities.
Jason Lawrence Geiger professionally known as Austin St. John, is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Jason Lee Scott in the Power Rangers franchise.
Billy Cranston is a fictional character in the Power Rangers universe. He is the Blue Ranger (triceratops) in the series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and was portrayed by actor David Yost. Billy is the only original Power Ranger to remain for the entire MMPR series, and is the second longest-serving Ranger overall behind Tommy Oliver. Until his departure, he is considered the brains of the Power Rangers team, creating many gadgets with which to solve problems that not even Zordon foresees, and he even invents the first team's wrist-worn communication devices. A reimagined version of Billy appears in 2017 reboot film, played by actor RJ Cyler.
Reiko Chiba is a Japanese actress, voice actress, gravure idol, and occasional J-pop singer.
Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie is a 1997 American superhero film directed by David Winning and Shuki Levy and written by Levy and Shell Danielson. It is the second installment in Power Rangers film series after Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie and was produced by Saban Entertainment and Toei Company, Ltd., and was distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film stars Johnny Yong Bosch, Nakia Burrise, Steve Cardenas, Jason David Frank, Austin St. John, Catherine Sutherland, Jason Narvy, Paul Schrier, Hilary Shepard Turner, Amy Jo Johnson, and Blake Foster.
Stephen Antonio Cardenas is an American martial artist and actor. He is best known for playing the character Rocky DeSantos, the second Red Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and eventually the Blue Zeo Ranger in Power Rangers Zeo.
Power/Rangers, or Power Rangers: Unauthorized, is an American superhero fan short film based on the Power Rangers franchise, and was directed and co-written by Joseph Kahn, produced by Adi Shankar and Jil Hardin, and co-written by James Van Der Beek and Dutch Southern. The short film featured an ensemble cast starring Katee Sackhoff, Van Der Beek, Russ Bain, Will Yun Lee, and Gichi Gamba. It was released on YouTube and Vimeo on February 23, 2015.
Karan Ashley is an American actress, singer, and talk show host. She is best known as Aisha Campbell, the second Yellow Power Ranger in the Fox Kids series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. In 1992, she was a member of the short-lived girl group K.R.U.S.H, who featured a song to the soundtrack of Mo' Money. She was known as "Ashley Jackson" at this time.
The Space Between is a 2016 Canadian film written and directed by Amy Jo Johnson. It stars Amy Jo Johnson, Jayne Eastwood, Michael Ironside, Sonya Salomaa, Michael Cram and Julia Sarah Stone.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always is a 2023 American superhero television film serving to commemorate the 30th anniversary of both Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993–1995) and the Power Rangers franchise.
'The whole franchise will always be very special to me. I can't wait to see it.' For now, she revels in the excitement that her fans will get to experience her new comic series. 'This is my thank you, this is my love letter to the fans,' she says. 'It's just been incredible to have these kids who are now adults support me through all of [my career] changes.'