A pageant winner turned performer
Kimmarie Johnson, whose screen credits included a 1998 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, has died at the age of 50. Her niece, Rhonda Scott, told People that Johnson experienced what was described as a heart event at her Los Angeles residence on Oct. 27. She was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where doctors identified a heart aneurysm condition. Johnson died on Wednesday.[S1]
Before acting, Johnson worked as a flight attendant and later signed with the Docherty modeling agency. She entered the 1992 Miss Pennsylvania USA pageant without any prior pageant experience and won it, which sent her to the 1993 Miss USA competition. There she finished among the top six contestants.[S1]
Johnson relocated to Los Angeles in 1996 and kept modeling while building an acting career. Her first screen credit came in 1998 with Troy Byer's drama Let's Talk About Sex. Additional projects followed, among them Dude, Where's My Car?, Shadow Fury, Wanda at Large, Break a Leg and Tucker War's.[S1]
On Beverly Hills, 90210, Johnson played the character Judy in a 1998 episode. Outlets including USA Today, TMZ, Entertainment Weekly, People, HELLO! and KCCI reported her death at 50, noting both her 90210 appearance and her Miss USA run.[S1][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7][S8]
Family, a pause and a return to study
Johnson gave birth to a son, Cameron Nino, in 2003, and the arrival led her to step back from acting for a period. During that interval she enrolled in classes at The Groundlings, the Los Angeles improvisation and sketch comedy school.[S1]
Scott remembered her aunt as someone whose presence lifted those around her, describing a warmth that people noticed immediately and saying the family would keep honoring her memory.[S1]
