Cherie Johnson

Cherie Johnson
File:Cherie Johnson - Grey Dress.jpg Johnson in 2010
Born	(1975-11-21) November 21, 1975 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, writer, film producer, author
Years active	1982–present
Children	1

Cherie Johnson (born November 21, 1975) is an American actress, writer and film producer and author. She is known for her roles on Punky Brewster (as Punky's best friend Cherie) and the long-running ABC/CBS sitcom Family Matters, where she played Laura Winslow's best friend Maxine "Max" Johnson for eight seasons (1990–98).

In 2009, she wrote, starred and produced the independent film I Do... I Did!, playing Vivian. Johnson has so far produced eight films. In 2010, she made writer debut when she released her book Around The World Twice. In 2011, she released her second, writing Two Different Walks Of Life A Celebrity and a Average Housewife. Her third novel Peaches & Cream is available. Her book Stupid Guys Diary was released in August 2013.

Background and career

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Johnson is of African American and Puerto Rican descent. Johnson's beginnings in show business are attributed to her uncle, David W. Duclon, a successful screen writer and TV producer who, early on, was known for his work on Happy Days in the 1970s. Duclon encouraged his niece's desire to act, and secured her an audition. In 1984, after two seasons as executive producer of NBC's Silver Spoons, Duclon successfully pitched a new pilot to the network about an orphaned young girl who is taken in by a curmudgeonly older man. The concept won the approval of NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff, who named the titular character, and series, Punky Brewster (after a girl he had known in his youth). Johnson was cast by NBC in the role of Punky's (Soleil Moon Frye) best friend, the character of which was modeled and named after herself. Punky Brewster was an immediate success among young audiences, and Johnson continued as the fictional Cherie throughout the series' run (1984–86 on NBC, and 1987–88 in first-run syndication).

In 1990, Johnson began playing Maxine "Max" Johnson, the best friend of Laura Winslow (Kellie Shanygne Williams) on Family Matters, appearing in the recurring role until the series' end in 1998. Duclon was again her employer, as he served as one of the executive producers of Family Matters during Johnson's run on the show. In addition to her starring roles, Johnson has made guest appearances on The Parkers, and performed a vocal guest role on The Proud Family. She has also appeared on Days of Our Lives. In the early 2000s, Johnson began producing films. In 2009, she wrote, starred and produced the film I Do... I Did!. In 2010, she starred in the films Lights Out, Nobody Smiling and Guardian of Eden. She then signed on to appear in the romantic film Fanaddict, which was shot in 2011 and is slated for release later in 2013.

Writer

Her first novel, Around The World Twice, was released August 10, 2010. On April 14, 2011, Johnson also released a poetry book with her I Do...I Did! co-writer, entitled Two Different Walks of Life. Her sophomore novel was Peaches & Cream, and her newest book of diary entries Stupid Guys Diary was released August 2014 . Writing has become Johnson's second career choice; she is also the Executive Director for Dimez magazine, and a contributing writer for Temptation magazine and Glam Couture magazine, where she does a monthly article titled "Cherie Picking".

Editor and co-host

Cherie is the Editor at Large for "Success News" and that she also has a column in "Glam Couture Magazine" called Cherry Picking about beauty products. She has a monthly column in Dimez Magazine, Temptation Magazine and co-host a sports radio show with Penny Hardaway and Charles Oakley which is thebottomlinesportsshow.com.

Personal life

Johnson has a daughter but refuses to release her name or pictures of her in efforts to keep her out of the spotlight. She joined Shadow Play Entertainment's literacy campaign, called "Take Time to Read", as the national spokesperson, sharing her thoughts on why reading is so important no matter what career people choose. She has said that favorite artists are Prince and Dr. Dre. Johnson has also stated that she is a big sports fanatic; her favorite team is the Pittsburgh Steelers, and she is a fan of NBA player Paul Pierce. During an interview, Johnson described herself as somewhat of a nerd and a homebody and that she loves to read, write, paint, eat and travel. She also stated she doesn't watch any TV or many movies, but she loves music and her family. She has also stated she is somewhat of a "Twitter-holic" and is often tweeting.

Cherie spends her free time working with many children charities and she is also on the Alzheimer's Association board.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1985	Playing with Fire	Eileen Phillips
1989	A Little Bit Strange	Tasha Masterson
1999	Teaching Mrs. Tingle	Student	Uncredited
2003	Malibooty	Lady-Mix Tape
2007	Dead Tone	Roxy	Main role; also co-executive producer
2007	Killer Weekend	Renee	Main role
2008	Cash Rules		Producer
2009	The Intruders	Bernadette
2009	I Do... I Did!	Vivian	Main role; also producer and writer
2009	Raven	Starla	Also producer
2010	Lights Out	Detective Monroe
2010	Nobody Smiling	Jo
2010	Guardian of Eden	Destiny	Main role
2011	Fanaddict	Brenda	Main role
2012	One Blood	Sandra	Also producer
2013	Plum	Scientist Tara
2013	Crush	Emma	Also producer
2014	A Place Called Hollywood	Rosie	Also producer
2014	Who Can I Run To	Trisha	Main role
2014	Behind Da Pole	Michelle	in post-production
2015	Signed, Sealed Delivered	Main Role

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984–1988	Punky Brewster	Cherie Johnson	85 episodes
1985	It's Punky Brewster	Cherie Johnson	Voice
1985	Days of Our Lives	Latoya Preston
1990–1998	Family Matters	Maxine Johnson	59 episodes
1996	Goode Behavior	Unknown	3 episodes
1999–2002	The Parkers	Tiffany	3 episodes
2005	Eve	Angela	Episode: "If the Shrew Fits"

Writings

• 2010: Around the World Twice
• 2011: Two Different Walks of Life: "A Celebrity and Average Housewife"
• 2012: August 7 novel Peaches & Cream
• 2013: "Stupid Guys Diary"

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Result
1986	Young Artist Award	Best Young Supporting Actress in a Television Series	Punky Brewster	Nominated
1987	Young Artist Award	Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress in a Long Running Series Comedy or Drama	Punky Brewster	Nominated
1988	Young Artist Award	Best Animation Voice Over Group	Punky Brewster	Nominated
1993	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress Recurring in a Television Series	Family Matters	Nominated

External links

• Cherie Johnson's's channel on YouTube
• Cherie Johnson on Twitter
• Cherie Johnson at the Internet Movie Database