Actress, choreographer and fitness icon AJ Johnson, best known for her roles in House Party and her appearance as Jody’s mom in Baby Boy, is putting women half her age to shame with her body, fitness routine and health regime. She has transformed into a celebrity fitness coach boasting some celebrity clients such as Emily Blunt, Anne Hathaway and Gabrielle Union.
In case you missed it, for at least the last decade, Johnson has been serving as a life coach for a number of Hollywood stars, most notably, Gabrielle Union. She was the one who Union said helped her ditch past “mean girl” behaviors and become more supportive of other women. Now, at age 60, she’s helping people from all walks of life do better with whatever they’re struggling to get a hold of with her upcoming TV One series, Life Therapy with AJ Johnson.
But it's her role in House Party that still gets talked about the most.
“The clothes that you saw in the House Party were all ours," Johnson tells Page Six. "It was that low-budget — we all made $4,000, flat. The movie became so popular Burger King called me and Play to do a commercial. We made more money on the Burger King commercial than we did in the movie!”
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“I choreographed the dancing scene for me and Tisha [Campbell] in ‘House Party.’ There was no dancing. They didn’t even know what a dance battle was. I went to Spelman, I am a Delta, and that was all we did at parties — it was always a dance battle. Tisha and I literally battled, did our steps, and then Kid was like ‘Oh hell no.’ Reginald [Hudlin] loved it and said we got to film it.”
The New Jersey native looks great! She could easily pass for half her age. Johnson credits her college days in Atlanta were crucial in serving as a wake-up call to her health. She lost her mother just two weeks into her freshman year.
“She made sure I didn’t know [she was sick] before I left for school,” said Johnson, still hurt by the memory. “My dad told me that she wanted me to go to college and do well with no worries about her or her health. No one in my family told me about it at her request. It all happened so quickly. I was 17 and just leaving home. I never had a chance to say goodbye.’’
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The unexpected loss of her mother took a tremendous emotional toll on the then-teenager. Johnson says she used her pain to dig deeper into her schoolwork and into her dual majors of chemistry and psychology. Through her classes, she began to realize the damaging impact the wrong foods could have on the body and mind and discovered the importance physical activity had on a person’s overall well-being.
“While others in those classes were there to get their degrees, I was there for much more,” remembers Johnson. “I was there in part to learn more about my own health and honestly, out of fear and to gain understanding of how my mother died.”
Then in 2001, she was dealt with another blow: her father lost his life due to cancer as well.
In 2016, Johnson posted a photo on instagram of her insane 8-pack and explained that she'd decided to go above and beyond to get the perfect abs.
"A project said they wanted a female with a 6 pack, but when I showed them my 8 pack,they gave me my filming start date before I left the room. I decided that in 2016, I'd rather be overqualified than not enough," she wrote.
But she used this opportunity not to shame anyone else, rather than lift up those who may be struggling with their health and fitness goals.
"Are there things that didn't happen for you in 2016 because you were not enough, while others were busy being more?" she asked. "Write down 6 situations where you felt like you were not enough last year... then write down 1 new choice for each situation that will now help you win- lead you to being the more that will help you love you more in the new year! ????????GO!! ❤️AJ #beready #getready #rockyourbetter"
AJ added that getting the body you want doesn't have to be a secret. In fact, she broke down her diet that got her here in the first place.
"Here is my current meal plan," she confessed.
"No sugar,
no added sodium,
25 gms added fat daily (almonds/avocado),
1 gallon water daily,
4oz protein 6xs a day,
1 cup fresh vegetables 4xs a day,
4 tablespoons basmati rice a day."
She posed naked let folks know that she's real, in this "instagram-filter" ruled world.
"#Nofilter #Noedits #noretouching Because we live in a time where real, inside and out, is replaced by so much fake that I wanted you to know that real DOES exist," exclaimed Johnson. "Because I wanted to be an example of accepting that I am fabulously flawed and need NO filters.... On how I think nor how I look. Because my mosquito bite and chicken pox scars-baseball and gymnastic bruises left life long marks that are a part of what made me the woman I am today- to cover them would mean you cover me... I wear my scars with more pride than any designer clothes. Because my tattoo represents my vine of growth-the rose I have become- the woman I blossom into with each valley - each challenge- each heartbreak and broken dream I survive. Thank you #bfwmagazine for stepping outside the box and not putting me in one. THIS is MY #nakedtruth
"I feel like I'm on divine assignment to be an example of better health -mind, body and soul," continued Johnson. "I take that assignment very seriously so my mental discipline, my unwavering spirit and the body I am building is my testimony. I know my choices are not for every body, but that's just it... I'm not asking ANYONE to look like me... I'm simply an example of what my best me is for ME, and hope I can motivate just 1 person to be a better version of themselves FOR themselves. I want women to know that no belly- no back fat - no cellulite and a nice ass IS possible, NATURALLY. Listen...LOL!!! I hear it all "I look like a man", " it's too much" but mostly from women. To them I say their opinions and judgements aren't important. What's most important is not how you feel about ME but how you feel about yourself. THIS is MY #NakedTruth"
But the part of the film that’s stuck with her the longest? Her character’s link with red Kool-Aid.
“I never had Kool-Aid in my life, so I did not know what purple or red meant. Even though I’m from Jersey, we didn’t drink Kool-Aid, we did fruit juice. [As a] matter of fact, I called Keenen Ivory Wayans when I was a fly girl because we were friends and I asked him, ‘What does purple or red mean with Kool-Aid?’ He said ‘oh my God, you gotta be kidding.’ Tisha Campbell ended up explaining it to me. She said well, you don’t say the flavors, you say the color of it. ‘
“I do not drink Kool-Aid to this day because I get so many comments from it from fans.”
For more info on AJ, click here.
