Kristen Johnston

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Kristen Johnston
Promo picture from 3rd Rock from the Sun
Born	September 20, 1967 Washington, D.C.
Notable roles	"Sally Solomon" in 3rd Rock from the Sun

Kristen Johnston, born September 20, 1967, in Washington, D.C., is an American stage, film, and television actress. She may be most famous for her Emmy Award-winning role in the television series 3rd Rock from the Sun. She also starred as Wilma Flintstone in the sequel to the live-action movie adaptation of The Flintstones animated series. Johnston is also known for her tall 6' (1.83 m) frame and relatively deep voice for an actress. In the fall of 2005, Johnston joined the regular cast of NBC's ER.

Johnston was raised mostly in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she graduated from Whitefish Bay High School, although she spent some of her teen years as an exchange student in Sweden and in South America. She earned a B.F.A. degree in drama at New York University.

Johnston made her professional stage debut with New York's Atlantic Theater Company, which was founded by playwright David Mamet. During her association with that company she appeared in such productions as As You Like It, Girl's Talk, Stage Door, Author's Voice, Portrait of a Woman, and Rosemary for Remembrance.

In addition, she performed with the Naked Angels Theatre Company in The Stand-In and Hot Keys, and with New York Stage and Film in Kim's Sister, with David Strathairn and Jane Adams.

For her performance in The Lights at Lincoln Center Theatre, Johnston was nominated for a Drama Desk Award as Best Supporting Actress. The show brought her to the attention of a Carsey-Werner television executive. After numerous auditions in 1996 for the TV series 3rd Rock from the Sun, she won the role of "Sally Solomon", the alien lieutenant and security officer posing as a sexy, female human in Ohio. She appeared in the series from 1996 through 2001 along with John Lithgow, Jane Curtin, French Stewart and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Johnston was nominated for three consecutive years for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Sally Solomon, winning in 1997 and 1999.

Johnston made her feature film debut in The Debt, winner of Best Short at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. In 1995, she played Kate in Backfire. Other television credits include guest-starring roles on the series Chicago Hope, Hearts Afire, and The Five Mrs. Buchanans. She was also the narrator in Microscopic Milton on the Disney Channel. Her significant roles in commercially successful movies included Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999 and Austin Powers in Goldmember in 2002.