Anjelah Johnson

Anjelah Nicole Johnson, also known as Anjelah Johnson-Reyes (born May 14, 1982), is an American actress, comedian, and former NFL cheerleader. Johnson was a cast member on the series MADtv during its 13th season. Her characters included a Vietnamese nail salon employee and a rude fast food employee turned music star named Bon Qui Qui.

Career

Johnson moved to Los Angeles in 2005 to pursue a career in comedy, after a friend suggested that she join a joke writing class. She took improv classes, and quickly began to headline her own shows. Her stand-up routine comprising her impression of a Vietnamese nail salon employee received much attention on YouTube, and in 2007, Johnson joined the cast of sketch comedy show MADtv as a featured performer. Because of the impending writers strike, Johnson was often given only a few lines in the scripts during her tenure, as the writers had to produce more scripts at a faster pace. However, her character Bon Qui Qui, a fast food employee who treats customers rudely, which she wrote herself, was received well, and gained a similarly large YouTube following. In 2008, Johnson was nominated for an ALMA Award for Outstanding Female Performance in a Comedy Television Series for her work on MADtv.

Johnson was given her own one-hour Comedy Central special, "Anjelah Johnson: That's How We Do It", in 2009. She also appeared in the films Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and Our Family Wedding, and provided her voice for the live-action adaptation of Marmaduke. She was also featured on the late night talk show Lopez Tonight, hosted by George Lopez.

Johnson became the "TC Girl", a spokesperson for Mexican restaurant Taco Cabana in 2011. In 2012, Johnson became the national campaign spokesperson for the "Don't be an S.O.V." campaign led by vRide, the country's largest van pooling company, which encouraged single commuters (S.O.V.s) to rideshare, carpool, or vanpool.

In 2013, Johnson reprised her role as her MADtv character Bon Qui Qui for a skit released by Alexander Wang. Johnson's second stand-up comedy special entitled Homecoming Show followed and premiered on Netflix. It was filmed in San Jose, California.

In 2015, Johnson's third stand-up special entitled Anjelah Johnson: Not Fancy was released on Netflix on October 1, 2015. It was filmed in southern California.

Personal life

Johnson was born and raised in San Jose, California, in a devout Christian family. She is of Mexican and Native American descent. She was a Pop Warner cheerleader from the age of 8 and was active in soccer, softball and track. She also practiced hip hop and break dancing. She began acting as a senior in high school and was especially interested in imitating different accents. She later studied speech communications at De Anza College. She subsequently became a cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders after being inducted in 2002. As a member of the Oakland Raiderettes she was named Rookie of the Year and performed at Super Bowl XXXVII.

Johnson married Group 1 Crew member Manwell Reyes on June 11, 2011 in Half Moon Bay, California. She says the couple does not want children. They enjoy spending time with their nieces and nephews.

Filmography

Movie appearances

Year	Title	Role
2007	The Box
2009	Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
2010	Our Family Wedding	Isabel
2010	Marmaduke	Afghan #2 (voice)
2013	Enough Said	Cathy
2014	Moms' Night Out	Restaurant Hostess
2014	The Book of Life	Adelita / Nina (voice)
2017	The Resurrection of Gavin Stone	Kelly Richardson

Television appearances

Year	Title	Role	Total episodes
2006	Love, Inc.	Female Client	1
2007	On the Up	Herself
2007–2008, 2016	MADtv	Various characters	4
2008	Untitled Dave Caplan Pilot	Maria
2008	The Movie Preview Awards	Herself
2009	Comedy Central	Herself
2010	Ugly Betty	Wendy
2010	Lopez Tonight	Herself
2016	MADtv 20th Anniversary Reunion	Bon Qui Qui

Discography

Studio albums

As Bon Qui Qui:

Title	Album details
Gold Plated Dreams	Released: January 20, 2015 Format: CD, digital download Label:Warner Music Nashville

Extended plays

As Bon Qui Qui:

• The Come Up (2012)

Music videos

As Bon Qui Qui:

Title	Year	Director
"I'm A Cut You"	2012	DG
"No Boyfren feat. Tammy"	2013
"This Is How We Do It (Benefit remix)"	2014	Randal Kirk II
"Shut Us Down"	2016	Diego Contreras

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Award category	Result
2002	Oakland Raiderettes	Rookie of the Year	Won
2008	ALMA Award	Outstanding Female Performance	Nominated

External links

• Official website
• Anjelah Johnson at the Internet Movie Database
• Anjelah Johnson at AllMusic
• Anjelah Johnson at AllMovie