A Pittsburgh-area pageant winner who built a modeling career on two coasts and then turned up on one of television’s biggest teen dramas has died after a heart emergency.
Kimmarie Johnson, the model and actress who played Judy on “Beverly Hills, 90210” and appeared in “Dude, Where’s My Car?,” died on the afternoon of Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, at 50.
Her niece, Rhonda Scott, confirmed the death in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 5.
Still No Confirmed Cause of Death
Scott said Johnson suffered a “heart event” at her Los Angeles home on Oct. 27. She was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Hospital and diagnosed there with a “heart aneurysm condition.” Her heart later stopped beating, and Scott said she died peacefully.
Johnson’s official cause of death has not been confirmed, and as of a Nov. 7 report, no confirmed cause had been released.
“She radiated a light so strong and bright,” Scott said. Johnson’s son, Cameron Nino, survives her.
A Top Six Finish in Wichita
Johnson was born in Pittsburgh on April 8, 1976, grew up in nearby Wilkinsburg, Pa., and attended Wilkinsburg High School. She won the Miss Pennsylvania USA pageant in 1992.
She represented her home state at Miss USA the following year and finished in the top six. That pageant, held in Wichita, Kan., was won by Kenya Moore of Michigan.
Johnson studied at California University of Pennsylvania, then moved to New York City and later Los Angeles to model, booking print campaigns and runway shows.
From Season 8 to a Stoner Comedy
She took a small role first in “Let’s Talk About Sex” before making her acting debut in 1998 in an episode of “Beverly Hills, 90210,” working alongside series stars Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling and Brian Austin Green. Her character, Judy, appeared in multiple episodes of the teen drama during Season 8.
Johnson later joined “V.I.P.,” the action series starring Pamela Anderson, and in 2000 played Jumpsuit Chick No. 5 in “Dude, Where’s My Car?,” the stoner comedy starring Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott. She worked steadily in independent films: “Shadow Fury” in 2001, “Spanish Fly” in 2002, “Gang Warz” in 2004, “Break a Leg” in 2005 and “The Summer of Massacre” in 2012, along with appearances in “Wanda at Large” and “Legacy.”
She was an executive producer of “The Last Eve” in 2005. Her acting career was curtailed after the birth of her son in 2003, and her final on-screen credit came in 2017, as Rebekah in “Tucker’s War.”
Johnson founded the skincare and beauty line SkinGlow by Kimmarie in 2011, and reports of her death described her as a model, actress and entrepreneur running her own skincare line. She was still working publicly in 2026. In August she appeared on the cover of a digital edition of Grazia Slovenia magazine, and in April she attended the Los Angeles premiere of “Michael,” the Michael Jackson biopic, according to an Instagram post. She also worked as a producer.
A Cast Marked by Loss
Her death adds to the losses for the show’s extended cast. Shannen Doherty, who played Brenda Walsh, died July 13, 2024, at 53, after a years-long battle with breast cancer. Luke Perry, who played Dylan McKay, died in March 2019 at 52 after suffering a stroke.