Anjelah Johnson

Anjelah Johnson

Johnson as Bon Qui Qui at the McAllen Convention Center in 2016
Born Anjelah Nicole Johnson
(1982-05-14) May 14, 1982
San Jose, California, U.S.
Nationality American
Occupation actress, comedian
Years active 2006–present
Spouse(s) Manwell Reyes (m. 2011)
Website www.anjelah.com

Comedy career

Medium Television, stand-up, film
Genres Observational comedy
Influences Ellen DeGeneres, George Lopez, Brian Regan[1]

Anjelah Nicole Johnson also known as Anjelah Johnson-Reyes (born May 14, 1982) is an American actress, comedian, and former NFL cheerleader. Johnson was a cast member on the series MADtv during its 13th season. Her characters included a Vietnamese nail salon employee and a rude fast food employee turned music star named Bon Qui Qui.[2]

Career

Johnson moved to Los Angeles in 2005 to pursue a career in comedy, after a friend suggested that she join a joke writing class.[3] She took improv classes,[3][4] and quickly began to headline her own shows. Her stand-up routine comprising her impression of a Vietnamese nail salon employee received much attention on YouTube,[3] and in 2007, Johnson joined the cast of sketch comedy show MADtv as a featured performer. Because of the impending writers strike, Johnson was often given only a few lines in the scripts during her tenure, as the writers had to produce more scripts at a faster pace.[3] However, her character Bon Qui Qui, a fast food employee who treats customers rudely, which she wrote herself, was received well, and gained a similarly large YouTube following.[3] In 2008, Johnson was nominated for an ALMA Award for Outstanding Female Performance in a Comedy Television Series for her work on MADtv.[5]

Johnson was given her own one-hour Comedy Central special, "Anjelah Johnson: That's How We Do It", in 2009.[1] She also appeared in the films Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and Our Family Wedding, and provided her voice for the live-action adaptation of Marmaduke.[5] She was also featured on the late night talk show Lopez Tonight, hosted by George Lopez.

Johnson became the "TC Girl", a spokesperson for Mexican restaurant Taco Cabana in 2011.[6] In 2012, Johnson became the national campaign spokesperson for the "Don't be an S.O.V." campaign led by vRide,[7] the country's largest van pooling company, which encouraged single commuters (S.O.V.s) to rideshare, carpool, or vanpool.

In 2013, Johnson reprised her role as her MADtv character Bon Qui Qui for a skit released by Alexander Wang.

In 2013, Johnson's second stand-up comedy special entitled Homecoming Show premiered on Netflix. It was filmed in San Jose, California.

In 2015, Johnson's third stand-up special entitled Anjelah Johnson: Not Fancy was released on Netflix on October 1, 2015. It was filmed in southern California.

Personal life

Johnson was born and raised in San Jose, California, in a devout Christian family.[4] She is of Mexican and Native American descent.[8] She was a Pop Warner cheerleader from the age of 8 and was active in soccer, softball and track.[9] She also practiced hip hop and break dancing.[9] She began acting as a senior in high school and was especially interested in imitating different accents.[9] She later studied speech communications at De Anza College.[9][10] She subsequently became a cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders after being inducted in 2002.[9] As a member of the Oakland Raiderettes she was named Rookie of the Year and performed at Super Bowl XXXVII.

Johnson married Group 1 Crew member Manwell Reyes on June 11, 2011 in Half Moon Bay, California.[11] She says the couple does not want children. They enjoy spending time with their nieces and nephews.[12]

Filmography

Movie appearances

Year Title Role Box office performance Director Other notes
2007 The Box Dianne A.J. Kparr
2009 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Julie Ortega $442,859,798 Betty Thomas
2010 Our Family Wedding Isabel $21,409,028[13] Rick Famuyiwa
2010 Marmaduke Afghan #2 (voice) $83,761,844[14] Tom Dey
2013 Enough Said Cathy $17,497,669 Nicole Holofcener
2014 Moms' Night Out Restaurant Hostess $10,429,707 Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin
2014 The Book of Life Adelita / Nina (voice) $50,151,543 Jorge Gutierrez
2017 The Resurrection of Gavin Stone Kelly Richardson Dallas Jenkins

Television appearances

Year Title Role Total episodes Other notes
2006 Love, Inc. Female Client 1
2007 On the Up Herself Host of show
2007–2008, 2016 MADtv Various characters 4 Sketch comedy
2008 Untitled Dave Caplan Pilot Maria
2008 The Movie Preview Awards Herself
2009 Comedy Central Herself Anjelah Johnson: That's How We Do It
2010 Ugly Betty Wendy BLOB Interviewer/Bettyhead (Season 4 Episode 13, "Chica and the Man")
2010 Lopez Tonight Herself
2016 MADtv 20th Anniversary Reunion Bon Qui Qui Sketch comedy

Discography

Studio albums

As Bon Qui Qui:

Title Album details
Gold Plated Dreams

Extended plays

As Bon Qui Qui:

Music videos

As Bon Qui Qui:

Title Year Director
"I'm A Cut You" 2012 DG[17][18]
"No Boyfren feat. Tammy" 2013
"This Is How We Do It (Benefit remix)" 2014 Randal Kirk II [19]
"Shut Us Down" 2016 Diego Contreras[20]

Awards and nominations

Year Association Award category Result
2002 Oakland Raiderettes Rookie of the Year Won
2008 ALMA Award Outstanding Female Performance Nominated

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.