Earvin Johnson III was born on June 4, 1992, in Beverly Hills, California, to Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Earlitha "Cookie" Johnson (née Kelly).[1] He has an older brother, Andre, and a younger sister, Elisa. He was raised in the Pentecostal Christian faith.[2] Johnson attended New York University, studying hospitality with a focus on event planning and design.[3] Johnson is gay and announced it to his family at the age of 17 and announced publicly in 2013 after a report by TMZ published pictures of him holding hands with a male friend. He was supported by his family in his decision to come out publicly.[4][5][6][7][8] After his decision, Johnson left the West Angeles Church of God in Christ, the church in which he grew up, due to their views on homosexuality.[2]
Career
Johnson joined the cast of the E! reality television series Rich Kids of Beverly Hills in 2014 as a recurring cast member on the first season.[9] He became a main cast member for the next three seasons.[10] The show was canceled after four seasons. Johnson then starred in his own spin-off reality series EJNYC, one of the first reality series to profile a young LGBTQ person of color.[11][2] In 2014, Johnson joined E! News as a news personality and commentator, covering shows for New York Fashion Week as well as having a recurring commentary role on Fashion Police.[12] He also appeared as a guest commentator on Hello Ross in 2014. He was a guest star during season 4 of Real Husbands of Hollywood.[13]
In 2016 Johnson was featured in an It Got Better short documentary produced by L/Studio.[14] In 2017, Johnson moderated a panel at BeautyCon called The Gender Revolution.[2] In 2017 Johnson was a guest host on The Real.[15] In an ESPN interview with Kelley L. Carter, Johnson discussed his television experiences and plans to pursue a career in fashion.[16] On May 12, 2021, it was announced that Johnson would voice the character of Michael Collins in the reboot of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, a role played in the original series by Phil LaMarr.[17]
Personal life
In 2015, Johnson underwent gastric sleeve surgery.[18][19] Johnson has been noted for his feminine and androgynous fashion style.[20][21][22] He revealed that after Caitlyn Jenner's coming out as transgender, he thought about transitioning, but decided against it.[2]
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