[2] The earliest specific record of one of her performances was at Theatre Royal, Norwich in 1790 where she was acting under the name Miss Ford.
Johnson and her husband first came to the United States in 1795 after being engaged by impresario and actor John Hodgkinson for performances with his Old American Company.
The couple made their American debuts in Colley Cibber's The Provoked Husband at the Federal Street Theatre in Boston on November 5, 1795.
[1] William Dunlap in his History of the American Theatre (1832), wrote the following description of Johnson's early appearances in the United States, Mrs. Johnson was a tall, elegant, beautiful young woman, whose taste in dress made her a model for the belles of the city, and whose manners were as fascinating off as on the stage.
She was more beautiful, but not so good an actress as either, and at the time we now speak of, America had not seen so perfect a fine lady in comedy.