Vernee Christell Watson-Johnson is an American actress, author, voice artist, and acting coach. Watson-Johnson is best known for her recurring roles as Vernajean Williams on Welcome Back, Kotter and as Viola "Vy" Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, playing the mother of Will Smith's character. She also voiced Dee Dee on Hanna-Barbera's animated series Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels. She also appeared in an NCIS episode.
Watson-Johnson played Blue's love interest in the 1972 film Trick Baby. She was also a regular cast member of the 1985–1986 situation comedyFoley Square as Denise Willums, the secretary for Alex Harrigan, played by the show's star, Margaret Colin. She played a small role on Sister, Sister as Lisa's best friend Patrice, and as the mayor's secretary, Lucille Banks, on Carter Country. She also had a recurring role as "Birdie" on The Young and the Restless. In 2005, she appeared in the film Christmas with the Kranks. In addition, Watson-Johnson has made appearances in episodes of television shows as The Love Boat, Hill Street Blues, Married... with Children, L.A. Law, Suddenly Susan, Dharma & Greg, The X-Files, ER, Days of Our Lives, Malcolm in the Middle, ', Desperate Housewives, Ghost Whisperer, Benson, The Big Bang Theory, Good Times, Dexter, Two and a Half Men, Southland, Criminal Minds, A.N.T. Farm, What's Happening!!, Young Sheldon, and several other series. As a voice actress, she has been tied to Hanna-Barbera Productions and Warner Bros. Animation with roles in shows such as Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, Laff-A-Lympics, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Animaniacs, ', ' and Batman Beyond, as well as the feature filmThe Ant Bully, and several video games related to these productions. From 1991 to 1992, she lent her voice to the showBaby Talk, where she was the voice of baby Danielle. In 2006, Watson-Johnson had roles in three films: The Ant Bully, The Celestine Prophecy and '. In 2017, Watson-Johnson was cast as Stella Henry on the soap operaGeneral Hospital, aunt of Donnell Turner's character Curtis Ashford. She won two Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series for the role in 2018 and 2019.
Personal life
Watson-Johnson has been married twice. Her first marriage was to Joe Duckett from 1976 until 1977, and was last married to photographer Van Johnson from 1979 to 1991. Watson-Johnson has a daughter named Sunde Jinia Johnson and a son named Josh with Johnson. In 2005, Watson-Johnson was a witness in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial.
