English Poetry

Casey Johnson biography

Casey Johnson
Born	Sale Trotter Case Johnson September 24, 1979 Florida, U.S.
Died	January 4, 2010 (aged 30) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Citizenship	United States of America
Occupation	Socialite, occasional actress
Parents	Robert Wood Johnson IV Nancy Sale Frey Rashad

Sale Trotter Case "Casey" Johnson (September 24, 1979 – January 4, 2010) was an American heiress, socialite and celebutante, as well as an occasional actress, model andauthor. She was one of the great-great-granddaughters of Robert Wood Johnson I (co-founder of Johnson & Johnson).

Early life

Johnson was born in Florida. Her father was Robert Wood Johnson IV, New York Jets owner, and her mother was Nancy Sale Frey, a socialite and former model. She was also niece ofJamie Johnson who directed the documentary Born Rich. Johnson was raised in Manhattan and lived in a triplex penthouse apartment at 834 Fifth Avenue (in which her father was a member of the board) and attended the exclusive Chapin School, and the Marymount School, and Dwight School after being asked to leave. She later enrolled in Brown University for one semester.

As a child, Johnson was diagnosed with diabetes. She and her father were both involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, working to find a cure for the disease. During her teens in the late 90s Johnson received attention from the local Manhattan media and paparazzi as a New York party girl and socialite celebutante who ran in the same circles as fellow heiresses Paris Hilton and Amanda Hearst.

Career

At the age of 14, Johnson co-wrote a book with her father entitled Managing Your Child's Diabetes. She appeared as herself on the television shows The Fabulous Life of... and E! True Hollywood Story. In 1999, Johnson had a minor role in the film Gloria starring Sharon Stone. In 2002, she was featured in the documentary It Girls, which was filmed in 2000 during Manhattan's Fashion Week. When Nicky Hilton declined to co-star with her sister Paris in The Simple Life, she asked Johnson. She too declined, and the role was subsequently given to Nicole Richie. Johnson called it the "stupidest mistake of my life" because her dream was to be an actress. Johnson also had a part in the never-aired The Tinsley Bumble Show, where she played a catty, vindictive socialite named Mimi von Lustig.

Personal life

In 2006, Johnson had a public falling out with her aunt Elizabeth Ross "Libet" Johnson after Johnson accused Libet of stealing her boyfriend, John Dee.

In 2007, Johnson adopted a daughter, Ava Monroe (born 2006), from Kazakhstan. Nicky Hilton is the child's godmother.

Johnson openly dated both men and women. In October 2009, Courtenay Semel (whom she dated off and on during 2008–2009), reportedly set Johnson's hair on fire after a fight. In November 2009, Johnson was arrested for allegedly stealing jewelry, shoes, 600 pages of a legal document, clothing, and underwear from Jasmine Lennard (who was tipped off by Semel). They were still seeing each other at the time. Johnson allegedly left a used vibrator and wet towel as a calling card. Johnson pleaded not guilty to burglary and receiving stolen property, and had a preliminary hearing scheduled for February 2, 2010.

After refusing to seek treatment for drug abuse, Johnson was cut off financially by her family. Johnson's mother Sale later won custody of Johnson's daughter Ava. After Johnson was cut off from her family, her Porsche was impounded. Court records show she owed Porsche Financial Services $105,740.93. She was also sued by a nanny service who won a $20,000 judgement against her.

On December 9, 2009, Johnson announced via Ustream video that she and reality television star Tila Tequila were engaged. Four days later, Johnson stated that she would be changing her and her daughter's last name to Nguyen, Tila Tequila's legal surname.

Death

On December 29, 2009, at 1:13 a.m., Johnson left a message on Twitter saying "sweet dreams everyone... I'm getting a new car...", TheDaily News reported that a maid found Johnson's dead body in the bedroom of her West Hollywood home on January 4, 2010. However, published reports of the 911 call revealed that Johnson actually died in a friend's guest house in Los Angeles when she was left there alone, while her friends went to the city to socialize. The unidentified caller reported that Johnson was ice cold, and her hands were turning blue. The caller also stated that Johnson was on medications, and that they often got "all screwed up".

On February 4, 2010, the Los Angeles Coroner's Office announced that she had died of diabetic ketoacidosis. She was reported to have neglected to take her medication, and died due to lack of treatment. Johnson's fiancée, Tila Tequila, has arranged plans to seek legal custody of Casey Johnson's adopted daughter, Ava.