Kimmarie Johnson

Kimmarie Johnson is an American actress, model, businesswoman, and beauty pageant titleholder. Born Kim Marie Johnson on April 8, 1976, she is the founder of SkinGlow by Kimmarie, a skin care and beauty retailing and consulting company created in 2011. She first gained wide public recognition through her participation in beauty pageants and her subsequent career in modeling and acting.

Johnson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the youngest child of Edward Frank Johnson and Caroline Ella Johnson. Raised in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, she attended Wilkinsburg High School, where she completed the Youth Competencies Program and was named Homecoming Queen. After her parents separated when she was about ten years old, she lived with her mother, two brothers, and grandmother, as well as other family members. At age sixteen, she served as a surrogate mother for her oldest brother's infant daughter. She later studied elementary education and child psychology at California University of Pennsylvania, where she was also named Homecoming Queen, before moving to New York City.

Following college, Johnson worked as an international flight attendant and was signed by the Pittsburgh modeling agency Docherty. She modeled for brands such as Vidal Sassoon, Oscar de la Renta, and United Colors of Benetton. In 1992, without prior pageantry experience, she won the Miss Pennsylvania USA title. She represented Pennsylvania in the 1993 Miss USA pageant, finishing in the top five. In 1996, she relocated to Los Angeles, continuing her modeling work for Lady Footlocker and the LA California Mart while pursuing an acting career.

Johnson secured her first film role in Dude, Where's My Car? and pursued training under Janet Alhanti and at Margie Habor's studio, as well as taking dance lessons. Her television credits include appearances on Beverly Hills, 90210 and Wanda at Large, and she appeared in the film Diary of a Tired Black Man. Following a hiatus after the birth of her son in 2003, she studied at The Groundlings and performed in several theater productions between 2007 and 2010, including The Next Stage, The Dark Side of The Moon, The Puppet Show, and an adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

In addition to acting, Johnson served as executive producer for the film The Last Eve, directed by Young Man Kang, which won awards at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival and the New York B Movie Film Festival. She was voted Actress of the Month by the Independent Filmmakers Alliance in 2006. In 2011, she partnered with industry leaders to launch SkinGlow by Kimmarie, releasing her first product, Ori Shea Butter, in September 2012.