Anne-Marie Johnson is an American actress and impressionist. She is known for her roles as Nadine Hudson Thomas in the sitcom What's Happening Now!!, and Althea Tibbs in the NBCpolice proceduralIn the Heat of the Night. She also was a cast member in the Foxsketch comedyIn Living Color during its final season, and had a recurring and regular roles in Melrose Place, JAG, Girlfriends and The InBetween.
Early life
Anne-Marie Johnson was born in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Acting and Theater. Her first television appearance was as a contestant on the game show Card Sharks that originally aired on June 5, 1979, where her name was listed as Anne Johnson. She appeared on the game show Child's Play under her full name as well as a pilot episode for the game show Body Language as Anne Marie Johnson, where she described herself as a "struggling actress".
Career
Johnson began her career appearing in episodes of Australian dramas Homicide and Matlock Police in 1970s. In 1984, she played the role of Aileen Lewis on the short-lived NBC comedy series Double Trouble, and at the same time had a recurring role in the NBC police dramaHill Street Blues. She played Raj's wife Nadine Hudson Thomas in the syndicated sitcom What's Happening Now!! from 1985 to 1988. In 1988, Johnson began starring as Althea Tibbs in the NBC/CBS police drama series In the Heat of the Night, playing the role through 1993. While appearing on In the Heat of the Night, Johnson recorded the song "Little Drummer Boy" for the 1991 cast Christmas CD Christmas Time's A Comin. Providing vocals behind her were country gospel group The Marksmen Quartet. The song was produced by co-stars Randall Franks and Alan Autry. She also appeared in a number of movies at this time, including Robot Jox, The Five Heartbeats, True Identity, and Strictly Business. On television, she played a leading role in the 1989 film Dream Date and starred as Carrie Jones/Carolyn Dimes in the 1990 miniseries Lucky Chances. After leaving In the Heat of the Night, Johnson joined the cast of the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color in its last season. She portrayed Alycia Barnett in the Fox prime time soap operaMelrose Place from 1995 to 1996. From 1997 to 2002, she had a recurring role on the CBS series JAG as Representative Bobbi Latham. She also has made guest appearances on other TV series, including Living Single, Murder, She Wrote, Leverage, Ally McBeal, Girlfriends, The Parkers, Dharma & Greg,, NCIS, Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Grey's Anatomy. In 2019, she had series regular role in the short-lived NBC drama series The InBetween and in 2020 had a recurring roles in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama Cherish the Day and ABC legal thrillerHow to Get Away with Murder.
Other activities
Johnson was elected first national vice president of the Screen Actors Guild in 2005. She ran for president of the actors' union in 2009 on the Membership First ticket, but she lost to eventual winner Ken Howard.
Personal life
Johnson has been married to Martin Grey since January 1, 1996.
