Cecelia Joyce Johnson was born and raised in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia. After graduating from Raven Hill Academy, she received an Associate of Arts degree in Art History and a B.A. in English Literature from George Washington University. Based on her poems and short stories, she was accepted into the Graduate Writing Seminars at John Hopkins University and continued on to the New School in New York City where she studied directing and served as a dramaturg.

 

Johnson was instrumental in bringing the Maryland Stage Company's production of three Beckett plays to the 2000 International Samuel Beckett Festival in Germany. In collaboration with the Australian Pianist Alan Kogosowski, she created and produced a series developed for public television on Chopin which was a TV Guide Critics Pick for three consecutive weeks. She produced two albums:  ‘Moonlight in the Garden', performed by Mr. Kogosowski; and 'Chris Gillespie Live at the Carlyle'. Johnson produced several off-Broadway plays beginning with 'Savannah Bay' at Theater for the New City, followed by Fathers and Sons by Richard Hoehler, at the Lion Theater on Theater Row.  She co-produced Theresa Rebeck’s Omnium Gatherum with Bob Cole, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.  

 

Johnson created and produced three shows at Cafe Carlyle:  Remembering Bobby Short, starring Clint  Holmes; This Thing Called Love: Cole Porter and Paul Simon, winner of the Bistro Award and created in collaboration with Holmes; and, Stop This Train also in collaboration with Holmes which earned him BroadwayWorld.com’s award for Best Celebrity Male Vocalist in Stop This Train.  All three were directed by Larry Moss and received critical acclaim. 

  

In addition to her production credits, Johnson has published two short stories, one translated into Dutch. She serves on numerous boards including the Martin E. Segal Theater at the CUNY Graduate Center and the Johnson Atelier.

 

Johnson is married to the internationally known sculptor, Seward Johnson Jr. They have two children: India Blake, an award-winning photographer and poet; and, John Johnson, a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, founder of the Harmony Institute, co-founder of BuzzFeed and Founder and Chairman of the Pacific Foundation.