Denise Johnson

Denise Johnson was born on July 1, 1983, in Menominee, Wisconsin, the third of seven children to Lynn and Sharon Johnson. She grew up in a small farming community in the heart of the state. Her mother home schooled all seven children, and this proved to be a creative environment for Denise. In middle school she dreamed of playing professional football and training sled dogs, but her most fervent passion was for visual art, music, and writing. She would sculpt and paint highly-detailed, miniature figurines. As a child she also loved the creative process implicit in drama, and performed skits and plays with her siblings for friends and family. During her high school and college years, music was a major interest. She and four of her siblings formed an alternative rock band called Sold Out; however, her dramatic inclinations would remain a constant. In 2001 her family relocated to Tennessee where she attended Middle Tennessee State University. There she studied fine art. Her first acting experience was in a theater class she had selected by accident. This further kindled a keen interest in acting. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, she worked at Starbucks, and also earned money by selling her signature, exquisite oil paintings. While working as a barista she met Alan Dysert, who encouraged her to hone her talent as an actress. In 2009 she started taking acting classes, at The Actor's School USA, taught by Dysert. Denise then decided to pursue a career in acting. Since then, she has made several TV appearances and starred in a number of independent films. In 2018, she co-founded Dark Rose Films with her brother Joshua Johnson. Their debut film, Realm of The Shadow, is set to release Fall 2019. In the Summer of 2018, Denise starred in the short film, Watching, which went on to win Silver Young Directors Award (2019) at Cannes International Film Festival in France.