James Johnson Bio

James Jefferson Johnson was born on July 15, 1955 in Cleveland, Ohio to parents William and Patricia Johnson. He has one older brother, Paul Johnson, and had a younger sister named Anna. His childhood was filled with tragedy, starting with when his sister, Anna, died at the age of three of leukemia. Three years later, when James was seven, his mother, who was a doctor, was on her way back from a trip to Africa sponsored by her hospital to help sick children when her plane crashed. She was killed, and nine year old Paul and seven year old James were left to be raised by only a father. They had quite a bit of family money from their grandfather, Charles F. Johnson, who was a successful actor in the early 1900s, so they always lived comfortably. William Johnson was always a hard worker, and often times his long hours of work left Paul and James at home to raise themselves. The boys were able to get along pretty much by themselves; they always kept their grades up and rarely got into fights at school. In 1970, when James was fifteen, his father was elected senator from Ohio. This inspired James, since he had always had an interest in government, and now he saw an ordinary family like his could be involved. James graduated in the top of his class from his high school, and studied hard at Harvard University. Almost straight out of college he became an acclaimed defense lawyer, earning tons of money. In 1986, Johnson married a woman named Elizabeth Clark, and two years later, in 1988, they had twins. The twins are fraternal, a boy and a girl, named James, Jr. and Victoria. Later, James was elected senator from Ohio, just like his father, and in 1996 became the Vice President to Bill Clinton. Now, James Jefferson Johnson is 49 years old, live in Ohio, and has a golden retriever named Lincoln and two goldfish named Nemo and Marlin. His two kids are sixteen and excel at school, just as he did.