Who is Kristen Johnston?
Kristen Angela Johnston was born in Washington, D. C. USA, on 20 September 1967 – her zodiac sign’s Virgo, and she holds American nationality. She’s an actress with more than 50 credits to her name, while she’s perhaps still known best for her portrayal of Sally Solomon, one of the lead characters in the evergreen family science fiction comedy series “3rd Rock from the Sun”, created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, and which also starred John Lithgow and Jane Curtin. It follows four aliens who are living on Earth disguised as humans, the series aired from 1996 to 2001 and won 44 awards, including four Primetime Emmys, while it was nominated for 74 other awards.
There are today rumors circulating the internet, claiming that Kristen’s retired from acting, however, she’s still quite active in the film industry, and is currently shooting for new episodes of the comedy series “The Righteous Gemstones”.
Early life and education
Kristen was raised in Washington, D. C. alongside her younger sister Julie Herschede and brother Scott, by their father Rod Johnston who was a Wisconsin Republican state senator, and their mother whose name hasn’t been disclosed; Julie died on 17 August 2020, after having lost her battle against addiction.
Kristen became interested in acting while attending a local high school, after having been encouraged by her drama teacher to appear in a school play. She’s revealed that it was also while attending high school that she became addicted to both drinking wine and taking pills, and that she would once drink two bottles of wine every evening; later on in her career, this motivated Kristen to launch her own charity organization – Sobriety, Learning and Motivation (SLAM) – which aims to help teenage girls struggling with self-esteem issues and addiction.
Upon matriculating in 1986, Kristen chose not to pursue a college degree, but to work on her way up in the film industry.
Roles in movies
Kristen made her debut film appearance in the 1985 short comedy “The Orkly Kid”, and a couple of her following roles were in the 1993 short drama “The Debt”, the 1995 comedy “Backfire!”, and the 1996 comedy “London Suite”.
She gained recognition in 1999, when cast to play Ivana Humpalot in the popular action adventure comedy “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”, directed by Jay Roach, and which starred Mike Myers, Heather Graham and Michael York. It follows Dr. Evil who’s built a time machine, and has succeeded in travelling back to the ‘60s and stealing Austin’s mojo; the movie won 18 of the 50 awards for which it was nominated, including an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup.
A couple of Kristen’s following notable performances were in the 2002 action adventure comedy “Austin Powers in Goldmember”, the 2003 comedy “Nobody Knows Anything!”, and the 2004 comedy “Duane Incarnate”.
What marked the 2000s for her was perhaps her portrayal of the supporting character Suzanne Collins in the 2005 comedy “Strangers with Candy”, written and directed by Paul Dinello, and which starred Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello. It follows 46 years old former junkie and convict Jerri Blank who’s returned to high school.
Three of Kristen’s most recent film roles have been in the 2018 romantic comedy “Swiped”, the 2019 romantic comedy “The Wedding Year”, and the 2020 comedy drama “Small Town Wisconsin”.
Roles in TV series
Kristen made her debut TV series appearance in a 1994 episode of the romantic drama “As the World Turns”, and the following years saw her appear in an episode or two of various series, such as the mystery thriller drama “Chicago Hope”, the comedy “The 5 Mrs Buchanans”, and the romantic comedy “Hearts Afire”.
Her next notable performance following her role in “3rd Rock from the Sun”, was her portrayal of Dr. Eve Peyton in six episodes of the romantic drama “ER” in 2005; created by Michael Chrichton, the series starred Anthony Edwards, George Clooney and Julianna Margulies. It follows the people working at Chicago’s County General Hospital, the series aired from 1994 to 2009, and won 179 awards, including 23 Primetime Emmys, while it was nominated for 370 other awards. Kristen had roles in only a couple of series in the remainder of the decade, such as the animated action adventure “Kim Possible” (voice role), the comedy “Puppy Love”, and the comedy “The New Adventures of Old Christine”.
Between 2011 and 2015, she starred as Holy Franklin in all the 64 episodes of the comedy “The Exes”, created by Mark Reisman, and which also starred Donald Faison and Wayne Knight. It follows the lives of four recently divorced friends, and the series won one of the six awards for which it was nominated, including two Primetime Emmy nominations.
Three of Kristen’s most recent roles have been in the 2019 episode “Toad Tax/Prison Break” of the animated action adventure “Amphibia” (voice role), 57 episodes of the romantic comedy drama “Mom” between 2019 and 2021, and the 2022 episode “Wherever You Go, There You Are” of the biographical action adventure “Our Flag Means Death”.
— no context our flag means death (@ofmdnocontext) May 4, 2022
Other credits
Kristen sang 14 songs in the series “3rd Rock from the Sun” between 1996 and 2001.
She could’ve been seen featured in a number of documentaries, such as the 2002 movie “TV’s Most Censored Moments”, the 2012 series “20/20”, and the 2013 movie “The Anonymous People”.
Kristen received special thanks for the 2014 documentary movie “Showing Up”.
She’s made a guest appearance in a number of talk-shows, most recently in “Entertainment Tonight”, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”, and “Tamron Hall”.
Awards and nominations
Kristen won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1997 and 1999, for her performance in “3rd Rock from the Sun”, and she also won a 2015 Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy or Musical, for her performance in “The Exes”.
She’s also been nominated for 13 other awards.
Love life and boyfriend
Kristen’s quite secretive when it comes to sharing the details of her love life with her fans, but there are still two men whom she’s been with, that the public knows about.
Between 1996 and 1998, she was in a relationship with David Newsom, an American actor and film producer with close to 50 acting credits to his name, perhaps still known best for his portrayal of Chase Porter in the 1994 fantasy mystery horror movie “New Nightmare”.
In 1999 and 2000, Kristen dated famous American actor Ryan Reynolds; he’s appeared in close to 130 movies and TV series, and has won 20 of the 79 awards for which he’s been nominated. Kristen’s spoken about Ryan in a couple of interviews, revealing that he was very nice to her, and that he’s a good person in general.
She hasn’t mentioned any other men whom she’s perhaps been with, so as of August 2022, Kristen seems to be single, hasn’t married and doesn’t have children.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ZGaEGAF2X2/
Hobbies and other interests
Kristen’s been interested in writing since her teenage years, and was 15 when she began practicing creative writing; she published her autobiography “Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of A Giant Disaster” in 2012.
She’s highly active on Instagram, and seems to be enjoying the attention which she’s receiving from her more than 30,000 followers; she’s uploaded only 66 pictures onto the network, most of which feature her during her everyday life.
Kristen’s a huge dog-lover – her two pet dogs can be seen featured in many of her Instagram pictures.
Her favorite season’s summer, as she enjoys yachting and sun tanning at the beach.
Kristen has her own favorite actors and actresses, some of whom are the late Robin Williams, Tom Cruise and Amanda Seyfried, while a couple of her favorite movies are “Good Will Hunting”, “Patch Adams” and “Dear John”.
Age, height and net worth
Kristen’s age is 54. She has long brown hair and blue eyes, her height is 6ft (1.85m) and she weighs around 165lbs (75kgs).
As of August 2022, her net worth’s been estimated at more than $6 million.
