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Vernee Christell Johnson (née Watson; born September 28, 1949) is an American actress, author, and acting coach. Watson-Johnson is known for her recurring roles as Vernajean Williams on Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979), as Viola "Vy" Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–1996), playing the mother of Will Smith's character and head nurse Gloria Tyler on Bob Hearts Abishola (2019–2024). She is often featured in guest or recurring roles as a nurse. Since 2017 she has played Stella Henry on General Hospital.

Early life

Vernee Christell Watson was born in New York City, where she was also raised. She graduated from Cathedral High School and New York University with a major in drama. She began her professional career at age 17 with the Al Fann Theatrical Ensemble in Manhattan and would tour with the group for five years.

Career

Watson-Johnson played Blue's love interest in the 1972 film Trick Baby. She was also a regular cast member of the 1985–1986 situation comedy Foley Square as Denise Willums, the secretary for Alex Harrigan, played by the show's star, Margaret Colin. She played a small role on Sister, Sister as Lisa's (Jackée Harry) best friend Patrice, and as the mayor's secretary, Lucille Banks, on Carter Country. She also had a recurring role as "Birdie" on The Young and the Restless. In 2005, she appeared in the film Christmas with the Kranks. In addition, Watson-Johnson has made appearances in episodes of television shows as The Love Boat, Hill Street Blues, Married... with Children, L.A. Law, Suddenly Susan, Dharma & Greg, The X-Files, ER, Days of Our Lives, Malcolm in the Middle, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Desperate Housewives, Ghost Whisperer, Benson, The Big Bang Theory, Good Times, Dexter, Two and a Half Men, Southland, Criminal Minds, A.N.T. Farm, What's Happening!!, Young Sheldon, Jessie, Mike and Molly, and several other series.

Watson-Johnson has additionally appeared in several TV commercials for various national brands, including McDonald's, Polaroid, Kellogg's, Pillsbury, Lysol, Taco Bell, IBM, Procter & Gamble, and Walmart.

As a voice actress, she has been tied to Hanna-Barbera Productions and Warner Bros. Animation with roles in shows such as Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, Laff-A-Lympics, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Animaniacs, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond, as well as the feature film The Ant Bully, and several video games related to these productions. From 1991 to 1992, she lent her voice to the show Baby Talk, where she was the voice of baby Danielle (played by Alicia and Celicia Johnson). In 2006, Watson-Johnson had roles in three films: The Ant Bully, The Celestine Prophecy and Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties. In 2017, Watson-Johnson was cast as Stella Henry on General Hospital, aunt of Donnell Turner's character Curtis Ashford. She won two Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series for the role in 2018 and 2019.

She guest starred as Janice on Peacock's dramatic Fresh Prince reimagining Bel-Air in its ninth episode.

Personal life

Watson-Johnson has been married twice. Her first marriage was to Joe Duckett from 1976 until 1977, and was last married to photographer Van Johnson from 1979 to 1991. Watson-Johnson has a daughter named Sunde Jinia Johnson (b. 1983) and a son named Josh (b. 1987) with Johnson. In 2005, Watson-Johnson was a witness in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

1. Company, Johnson Publishing (1982). Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. Retrieved 18 April 2019. {{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
2. ^ "TV's Vernee Watson does some theater". The Daily American. 27 August 1979. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
3. Bolden, Bonnie (7 January 1977). "Television Actress Claims Raleigh County Roots". Beckley Post-Herald. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
4. Fearn-Banks, Kathleen; Burford-Johnson, Anne (October 3, 2014). "Watson, Vernee (1954-)". Historical Dictionary of African American Television. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 502. ISBN 978-0-8108-7917-1.
5. Thapa, Shaurya (11 May 2021). "Vernee Watson-Johnson's 10 Best Movie & TV Roles, Ranked By IMDb". ScreenRant. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
6. "Vernee Watson-Johnson". movietvdb. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
7. "Vernee Watson-Johnson voiceography". Voice Chasers. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
8. ^ "General Hospital: Comings & Goings". Soaps.com. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
9. ^ Eades, Chris (June 7, 2017). "Stella on GENERAL HOSPITAL — Meet Vernee Watson!". ABC Soaps in Depth. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
10. Ramos, Dino-Ray (April 29, 2018). "Daytime Emmy Awards Complete Winners List: Days Of Our Lives, The Talk, GMA Among Honorees". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
11. Choe, Brandon (March 7, 2022). "'Fresh Prince' Alums Daphne Maxwell Reid & Vernee Watson-Johnson To Guest Star On Peacock's 'Bel-Air'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
12. "Actress Vernee Watson Has First Child, Girl, 6 1/2 Lbs". Jet. 64 (9): 62. May 9, 1983. ISSN 0021-5996.
13. "Jackson's Cousin Testifies". The New York Times. May 19, 2005. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
14. "Michael Jackson Trial Continues". Life. United States. May 18, 2005. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
15. "Cotton Comes to Harlem". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
16. Himes, Chester (August 3, 2011). Cotton comes to Harlem. New York City: Knopf Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-307-80324-5.
17. ^ "Vernee Watson Johnson (visual voices guide)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved March 24, 2019. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
18. "CBS Fall 2019–20 Schedule: Some Diverse Moves For The Most-Watched Network, But Lots Of Familiar Faces". Deadline. May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
19. Baldwin, Kristen (October 15, 2024). "Shrinking review: Jason Segel's therapy-com makes good progress in season 2". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
20. Nordyke, Kimberly (April 29, 2018). "Daytime Emmys: The Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. New York City: Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
21. "The 46th Annual Daytime Emmy Award Winners" (PDF). Los Angeles: emmyonline.org and National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. May 5, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.

External links

• Vernee Watson-Johnson at IMDb

• 1949 births
• Living people
• Actresses from New York City
• American film actresses
• American television actresses
• American video game actresses
• American voice actresses
• Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series winners
• Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series winners
• Daytime Emmy Award winners
• 20th-century American actresses
• 21st-century African-American actresses
• 21st-century American actresses
• 20th-century African-American actresses