Kristen Angela Johnston (born September 20, 1967) is an American actress. Best known for her work on television sitcoms, she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Sally Solomon in 3rd Rock from the Sun.
She starred as divorce attorney Holly Franklin on The Exes, and as recovering addict Tammy Diffendorf on Mom. She has also appeared in the films Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000), Music and Lyrics (2007), and Bride Wars (2009).
Her memoir Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster (2012) was a New York Times best-seller.
Early life Kristen Angela Johnston was born on September 20, 1967. Johnston is the daughter of former Wisconsin Republican state senator Rod Johnston. She is of English and German descent. She grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated from Whitefish Bay High School in 1985. Johnston earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drama at New York University.
Career Johnston made her professional stage debut with New York's Atlantic Theater Company, founded by playwright David Mamet, where she appeared in many productions including As You Like It and Stage Door. She performed with the Naked Angels Theater Company in The Stand-In and Hot Keys, and with New York Stage and Film in Kim's Sister with David Strathairn and Jane Adams. For her performance in The Lights at Lincoln Center Theater, she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Supporting Actress.
A Carsey-Werner casting agent who saw her in The Lights recommended her for the role of Sally Solomon on the TV series 3rd Rock from the Sun. After numerous auditions in 1996, she won the part, and starred on the show from 1996 to 2001, winning two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
She made her feature film debut in The Debt, winner of Best Short at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. In 1995, she played Kate in the film Backfire! She played Esmeralda, a sea hag in Thrill Ride, a family friendly film released in 2016. Her other television credits include guest-starring roles on Chicago Hope, Hearts Afire, and The 5 Mrs. Buchanans. She narrated Microscopic Milton on the Disney Channel. Her significant roles in commercially successful movies include Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas in 2000, Music and Lyrics in 2007, and Bride Wars in 2009. In 1998, she was a spokesmodel for the Clairol company.
Johnston appeared in the sixth and final season of HBO's comedy drama series Sex and the City. In the "Splat!" episode, her character, Lexi Featherston, an aging party girl, accidentally falls out of a window and dies (after saying, "I'm so bored I could die"), prompting Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) to reexamine her life. In 2005, Johnston was featured in six episodes of NBC's ER. In 2009, she was cast as Patsy in a proposed American remake of the British TV series Absolutely Fabulous. A pilot was filmed but it wasn't picked up to series. She had a recurring role in the 2009 season of Ugly Betty, and had a single-episode appearance as a dominatrix in the second season opener of Bored to Death.
She starred in the TV Land sitcom The Exes, which ran for four seasons from November 30, 2011, to September 16, 2015. She played divorce attorney Holly Franklin, whose former clients and friends live across the hall in an apartment she owns. Her memoir, titled Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster was published on March 12, 2012 by Gallery Books. The book became a New York Times best-seller.
In 2018, she began a recurring role as Tammy Diffendorf on the CBS sitcom Mom, and was upgraded to series regular for the show's seventh and eighth seasons (2019–2020). Her character Tammy is Bonnie's (portrayed by Allison Janney) foster sister and Tammy joins the group's AA meetings upon being released from prison in season 6. In an interview with The New York Post, Johnston described Tammy by saying: "She’s probably the dumbest smart person you’ll ever meet. She’s so many things at once. She’s a criminal, but she’s also innocent. She’s clumsy but also very sophisticated. She has no editing button and just says whatever she feels — and it’s usually the wrong thing."
In May 2024, Variety announced that Johnston was cast in Netflix's comedy series Leanne alongside Leanne Morgan. The series was created by Morgan, Susan McMartin and Chuck Lorre. Johnston plays Carol, who is twice divorced and is loyal to her sister, Leanne.
Public image She appeared on the cover of January 1998 issue of Milwaukee Magazine. She topped the magazine's list of "The Most Intriguing Milwaukeeans". Johnston has also appeared on the cover of Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide. In 1998, she appeared in a television commercial for Clairol hair care products and voiced a commercial for Starbucks.
Personal life She dated actor Ryan Reynolds in 1999 and the two attended the film premiere of The Green Mile together.
In her memoir, Johnston discusses an addiction to alcohol and pills that began when she was in high school. She wrote that at the height of her addiction, she drank on average two bottles of wine per evening. In 2021, Johnston said she has been sober for 14 years.
Johnston said she was diagnosed with lupus myelitis in November 2013, which caused her to miss filming some episodes of her series The Exes and became extremely debilitating. She got her diagnosis and treatment after seventeen doctors and is currently in remission after chemotherapy, steroids, and IVIG.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1985 Unknown Short film 1992 Amazonia Unknown 1993 Alice Kosnick 1995 Backfire! Kate 1999 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Ivana Humpalot 2000 Wilma Slaghoople 2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember Dancer Uncredited Ice Age Sylvia Sloth Voice role; scenes deleted 2005 Strangers with Candy Coach Divers 2007 Music and Lyrics Rhonda 2009 Bride Wars Deb Finding Bliss Irene Fox 2011 Life Happens Francesca 2012 Vamps Mrs. Van Helsing Bad Parents Tracy2013The Anonymous PeopleHerselfDocumentary film 2014 Lovesick Katherine 2016 Thrill Ride EsmeraldaNominated–North Hollywood Cinefest's Festival Award for Best Actress in a Feature Film 2018 Swiped Professor Barnes For the Love of George Psychic SaraNominated–Orlando Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Performance Hurricane Bianca 2: From Russia with Hate Roksana 2019 The Wedding Year Barbara 2020 Small Town Wisconsin Alicia2023Loganberry LaneOther SusanShort filmIndie Short Fest's December Award for Best Ensemble Cast (shared with cast)Nominated–Indie Short Fest's Indie Short Fest Award for Best Ensemble Cast (shared with cast) 2025 Maddie's Secret Beverlee Ralph
Television Year Title Role Notes 1994 Chicago Hope Dr. Wendy Smythe Episode: "Genevieve and Fat Boy" 1994 Zena Episode: "Bad News Bert: There's Peanuts in the Peanut Butter" 1995 Hearts Afire Margot Episode: "John and Georgie's Not-So-Excellent Adventure" 1996 London Suite Grace Chapman Television film 1996–2001 3rd Rock from the Sun Sally Solomon 139 episodesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (1997, 1999)Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (1998)Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries, or TV Film (1997)Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series (1997)Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1997—1999) 1997 Microscopic Milton Narrator US version1998–2000Hollywood SquaresHerselfPanelist; 10 episodes 2004 Sex and the City Lexi Featherston Episode: "Splat!" 2005 ER Head Nurse Eve Peyton 6 episodes 2007 Kim Possible Warmonga (voice) 3 episodes 2009 Francie Episode: "Too Close for Christine" Ab Fab Patsy US remake of Absolutely Fabulous. Pilot episode only. Series not picked up. 2009–2010 Ugly Betty Helen 3 episodes 2010 Bored to Death Mistress Florence Episode: "Escape from the Dungeon!" 2011–2015 Holly Franklin Gracie Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy or MusicalMain role; 64 episodes 2013 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself 2 episodes 2014 Kirstie Waitress Maddie Episode: "Maddie vs. Maddie" Modern Family Brenda Episode: "Strangers in the Night" 2015 Getting On Marla Pounder Episode: "Please Partake of a Memorial Orange" 2017 Daytime Divas Anna Crouse 6 episodes 2018–2021 Mom Tammy Diffendorf 57 episodesGuest: Season 5; Recurring: Season 6; Main: Seasons 7–8 2019 Amphibia Braddock (voice) Episode: "Prison Break"; replaced by April Winchell afterwards2022Our Flag Means DeathThe Widow Evelyn Higgins2 episodes2023The Righteous GemstonesMay–May Montgomery9 episodes2025LeanneCarol Main role, 16 episodes2026Going DutchGeneral Martin Season 2 recurring role
Podcasts YearTitleRoleNotes2021The Pack ProjectVeronicaVoice; Episode: "Elevator Bride"2022Marvel's Wastelanders: DoomShe-Hulk10 episodes2022NaughtyPam5 episodes
Stage Year Title Role Notes 1993 Rose Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play1997Baby AngerMary Kay Paterson1998Sabina2001Nicky 2001–2002 Sylvia2002Twelfth NightMaria 2004 Aunt Dan and Lemon Aunt Dan Anna Much Ado About Nothing Beatrice Sabina 2007 Scarcity Martha 2006–2007 Love Song Joan 2007–2009 So Help Me God Lily Darnley Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (2007, 2010) 2008 Theresea Rebeck
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.1994Drama Desk AwardOutstanding Featured Actress in a PlayThe Lights1996Golden Globe AwardBest Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film3rd Rock from the SunScreen Actors Guild AwardOutstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy SeriesOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series1997Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy SeriesScreen Actors Guild AwardOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series1998Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy SeriesScreen Actors Guild AwardOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series1999Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series2010Drama Desk AwardOutstanding Actress in a PlaySo Help Me God!
Autobiography 2012: Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster, Gallery Books,
References
External links
2006 Interview with Johnston on Theatre.com Kristen Johnston Downstage Center interview American Theatre Wing, October 2007