Lynn-Holly Johnson is an American retired

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

and actress. After achieving some success as a figure skater in the mid-1970s, she began an acting career, including a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

-nominated role in 1978's '' Ice Castles'' and her role as Bibi Dahl in the 1981

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

film '' For Your Eyes Only''.

Early life and career

Johnson was born Lynn Holly Johnson in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, to Margaret, a housewife, and Alan Johnson, a general contractor. She has a brother, Gregg, and an older sister, Kimberlee. Johnson added the

hyphen The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. ''Son-in-law'' is an example of a hyphenated word. The hyphen is sometimes confused with dashes ( figure ...

to her name after her roommate signed Johnson's name that way. She graduated from Niles North High School in

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, neighboring the City of Chicago's northern border. Its population, according to the 2020 census, was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's d ...

. Johnson won the silver medal at the novice level of the 1974 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She gave up competitive skating in 1977 to turn professional and join the

Ice Capades The Ice Capades were traveling entertainment shows featuring theatrical ice skating performances. Shows often featured former Olympic and US National Champion figure skaters who had retired from formal competition. Started in 1940, the Ice Capa ...

, and subsequently began an acting career, making her film debut in '' Ice Castles'', in which she portrayed Alexis "Lexie" Winston, a figure skater who is blinded by a blood clot in her brain. The film, a romantic drama co-starring

Robby Benson Robby Benson (born Robin David Segal; January 21, 1956) is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence as a teen idol in the late 1970s, appearing in the sports films '' One on One'' (1977) and '' Ice Castles'' (1978). He subsequently ...

, was a minor success in December 1978, grossing $18 million in the US. Johnson, who was described as "an appealing young woman who actually happens to be a good skater who can act" by film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

, was nominated for a

as "

Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress The Golden Globe for New Star of the Year – Actress was an award given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at their annual Golden Globe Awards. History The award was first introduced at the 5th Golden Globe Awards in 1948 where it wa ...

" for her performance in the film. Johnson was subsequently cast in the lead role of the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

horror drama '' The Watcher in the Woods''. The film received a limited release in April 1980, but it was soon withdrawn and not given a wider release until October 1981. Also in 1981, Johnson had a minor supporting role as Bibi Dahl in the

movie '' For Your Eyes Only''; the character's name is a pun on the endearing term "baby doll" as well as likely being an homage to

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

, who wrote the screenplay for the 1967 Bond movie '' You Only Live Twice''. In ''For Your Eyes Only,'' she played yet another figure skater who has a crush on James Bond, played by

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 1 ...

. In 1984, Johnson starred in ''

Where the Boys Are '84 ''Where the Boys Are '84'' (onscreen title: ''Where the Boys Are'') is a 1984 American sex comedy film that was directed by Hyman Jack "Hy" Averback (the last film he ever directed) and starred Lisa Hartman, Lorna Luft, Wendy Schaal, and Lynn ...

'', a remake of the 1960 film of the same name. The film was a critical and box-office failure. In 1996, Johnson quit acting to concentrate on her family; her last acting role at that time was a made-for-television film, ''Fugitive X: Innocent Target''. In 2007, she returned to acting in a

community theater Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside hel ...

production of ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern self-published in 1943 and is in turn loos ...

''.

Personal life

Johnson currently lives with her husband and their two children in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. In January 2010, Johnson suffered a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

while on a flight from Florida to Los Angeles. Upon medical intervention, Johnson learned that the stroke had been brought on by a

patent foramen ovale Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a congenital heart defect in which blood flows between the atria (upper chambers) of the heart. Some flow is a normal condition both pre-birth and immediately post-birth via the foramen ovale; however, when this d ...

, a congenital heart defect that had gone undiagnosed. She subsequently underwent

open heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to c ...

to treat the condition. Johnson's daughter, Jensie, is a competitive gymnast and a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide gymnastics team.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
* * (October 16, 1998)
Lynn Holly Johnson interview
(August 2012)
Lynn Holly Johnson Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Lynn-Holly Actresses from Chicago American film actresses American female single skaters American television actresses Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses People with congenital heart defects Year of birth missing (living people)