From 1979 to 1980, she had a recurring role as Betty Lou Barker in the CBS prime time soap opera Dallas.

In 1983, she was cast as Terry Hartford in another CBS prime time soap opera, Falcon Crest playing this role to 1986.

[1][2] In 1986, she received a Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Villainess on a Prime Time Serial.

[citation needed] Johnson appeared in a number of movies, include Beyond Reason (1985), Wes Craven's Chiller (1985), Fatal Instinct (1992), Trauma (1993), Deadly Exposure (1993), Four Christmases (2008) and Fame (2009).

Johnson also guest starred in a number of shows, include Hotel, L.A. Law, In the Heat of the Night, Nash Bridges, Strong Medicine and Monk.