She was the female lead in Columbia Pictures' teen romance film Life Begins at 17 with co stars Edd Byrnes and Mark Damon.

She was a junior print model for Jantzen swimsuits, White Stag and Pendleton Woolen Mills and appeared in a national Seventeen magazine advertisement for Skyway Luggage.

[13] In 1953, at age 16, the Portland Oregon Journal Sunday magazine published a cover photo feature story by writer Bill Reasons predicting her future career in Hollywood.

[14] In 1954, at age 17, she was elected by a general public newspaper vote in Oregon's KPTV-Portland Miss Flowers of '54 contest to represent the florist industry as their theme girl for the next year.

[20] With her pageant $3,000 scholarship winnings she attended the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, the oldest English-speaking acting school in the world.

Johnson's long time association with the USMC began in 1954 working with the Marine Corps Reserves at Swan Island in Portland, Oregon.

As a college student and working actress, her photo regularly appeared in Los Angeles, Southern California area newspapers including a story on the marvels of modern fingerprinting in the banking industry.

[31][32] The movie's title song Bernardine sung by Pat Boone with music and lyrics composed by Johnny Mercer became a popular hit on the radio.

[33] Producer Sam Katzman cast her as the female lead in his teen romance drama motion picture titled Life Begins at 17 filmed at Columbia Studios in Hollywood.

[44] The movie featured the animal adventures of London the German Shepherd dog who saves Fleecie the Lamb from the slaughter house, outwits the authorities and befriends a young girl.

Johnson appeared as a contestant on the Groucho Marx national broadcast television game show You Bet Your Life filmed in Hollywood on May 30, 1957.

Johnson appeared in two sketches with Jerry Lewis on his Father's Day NBC live television Color Carnival special broadcast Saturday June 8, 1957.

[48] Johnson portrayed the character Lady Luck, a saloon girl, in a poker table scene with actors Doug McClure and Harry Guardino in the episode "Daughter of the Sioux" of television western series Overland Trail broadcast by NBC-TV on March 20, 1960.

Johnson was cast in a feature role as Donna Sue Edison in an episode of Bourbon Street Beat a detective series murder mystery set in New Orleans.

The cast included regulars Richard Long and Andrew Duggan with guest co-stars Diane McBain, Roscoe Ates and Lurene Tuttle.

Her likeness was featured in commercial print model work for the State of Oregon Development Commission, Mobil Oil, Skyway Luggage, Jantzen swimsuits, Pendleton Woolen Mills blankets and Nordstrom Department Stores.