Kristen Johnson

KRISTEN JOHNSTON

Date of Birth: September 20, 1967

Born in Washington D.C., Kristen Johnston was raised in Milwaukee, WI, with her younger sister and older brother. Johnston always yearned for the actor's cue, and during high school, she not only got involved in her school's stage productions, but also in the community theater. She spent a large part of her teens traveling as an exchange student to Sweden and South America.

While earning her B.F.A. degree at New York University in drama, Johnston appeared in college stage productions before making her professional stage debut with the Atlantic Theatre Co, founded by playwright David Mamet. During her long association with this theatre, the company featured her in such productions as Overruled, As You Like It, Girl's Talk, Author's Voice, and Portrait of a Woman.

In addition, she has performed with the Naked Angels Theatre Company in The Stand In and Hot Keys, and with New York Stage and Film in Kim's Sister with David Strathairn and Jane Adams.

While doing theater, she found time to be in various commercials and movies. Her first feature film was The Debt (1993) which won Best Short Film at Cannes in 1993. Because theater and her odd jobs weren't paying her bills, she packed her bags and headed out to Los Angeles. Her initial plan was to find a gig, get some money, and head back to New York, but things didn't quite turn out that way.

Johnston was nominated for a Drama Desk Award as Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Lights at Lincoln Center Theatre. That show brought her to the attention of a Carsey Werner executive casting director of 3rd Rock From the Sun. She auditioned and got the part of Sally Soloman. After the show premiered, she found out that was going to be in LA for awhile. The show, as it turned out, was a huge success and she emerged as a sex symbol - something very new to her.

In 1995, she played Kate in Backfire!. Using her comic experience, she worked on two comedies: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) for which she played the luscious Russian spy, Ivana Humpalot, and in The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000) in which she plays the object of Fred Flintstones affections, Wilma.

Filmography:

Ice Age (2002)
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000)
Nobody Knows Anything (2000)
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Running with Scissors (1998)
Backfire! (1995)
The Debt (1993)