Amy Jo Johnson

Amy Jo Johnson (born October 6, 1970) is an American and Canadian actress, musician, and filmmaker. As an actress, Johnson is best known for her roles as Kimberly Hart on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993–1995), Julie Emrick on Felicity (1998–2000), and Jules Callaghan on Flashpoint (2008–2012).

Her credits as a director include the short films Bent (2013) and Lines (2014), along with two feature-length films, The Space Between (2016) and Tammy's Always Dying (2019). In music, Johnson has released four studio albums: The Trans-American Treatment (2001), Imperfect (2005), Never Broken (2013), and an EP, Still Here (2024), with her original music being featured on Felicity, Flashpoint, and in other productions.

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. Johnson grew up in Dennis, Massachusetts, and attended Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School. 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 a little over six months 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. Her time during the series also included her first film, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. 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. 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 the television series, she was almost set on fire during a stunt, and during Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, she was almost electrocuted. 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. In all, Johnson has appeared in 138 episodes and 3 films 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. Two months later, she denied claims that money was the sole reason why she chose not to participate in the special. In the fourth quarter of 2023, it was announced Johnson would release a four-issue comic book series as her gift to the fans for the 30th anniversary Power Rangers celebration, titled Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return, distributed by Boom! Studios.

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.