Kimmarie Johnson, a model and actress best known for her appearance on Beverly Hills, 90210, has died at the age of 50, PEOPLE reported on Thursday, November 5. Her niece, Rhonda Scott, confirmed the news to the outlet, saying Johnson died on Wednesday afternoon, November 4, after suffering a heart event at her Los Angeles home more than a week earlier.
According to Scott, Johnson suffered the heart event at home on Tuesday, October 27. She was taken to Cedars-Sinai Hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with a heart aneurysm condition. She died eight days later while still receiving treatment. TMZ was first to report the news, according to PEOPLE.
Johnson played a character named Jane in a 1998 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, the hit Fox drama that ran for ten seasons and became a defining teen series of the 1990s. The appearance was her first major television credit after she moved to Los Angeles in 1996 to pursue acting alongside her modeling career.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Johnson studied elementary education and child psychology at California University of Pennsylvania before moving to New York to model. She worked for Vidal Sassoon, Oscar de la Renta, and Benetton, and won the Miss Pennsylvania title despite having no prior pageant experience. She went on to finish in the top five at the 1993 Miss USA pageant.
Her first film role was a small part in the 2000 comedy Dude, Where’s My Car? She later appeared in Carman: The Champion and The Summer of Massacre, as well as the television dramas VIP and Wanda at Large.
In 2011, Johnson founded her own skincare and beauty brand, SkinGlow by Kimmarie, moving into business after years working in modeling and acting. Johnson welcomed her son Cameron Nino, a Los Angeles-based musician, in 2003.
No official statement from a representative was available at the time of publication. Johnson’s death comes just over a week after the heart event that sent her to the hospital, closing a career that moved from the pageant stage to the runway, the screen, and finally her own beauty brand.
