Kristen Johnston turns 59 on 20 September 2026. The American actor, born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Wisconsin, is still linked to Sally Solomon in 3rd Rock from the Sun, but her career did not stop in 2001.

She studied theatre at New York University and worked off-Broadway, including with the Atlantic Theater Company. Television arrived with the NBC sitcom (1996–2001) about aliens learning human life. Her physical performance brought two Emmy awards for supporting actress, in 1997 and 1999; she was nominated again in 1998.

She continued in The Exes and in Mom, with Chuck Lorre. In 2025–2026 she plays Carol, sister of the lead, in the Netflix sitcom Leanne; the second season was in production. She had a recurring role in season 2 of Fox’s Going Dutch.

Johnston has spoken publicly about addiction and recovery and has argued for access to treatment. This account treats the subject as health, without medical detail and without stigma. It is not a clinical file.

The anniversary runs through theatre, sitcom and recent roles. Lithgow, Lorre, Leanne Morgan and the two Emmys are enough names. Current projects, checked at the time of writing, are not a premiere calendar.

Fifty-nine years mark a durable comic actor, not nostalgia for one series. 3rd Rock remains the landmark; Leanne shows continuity. Private life stays outside the article.

The anniversary is not a medical file and not a casting notice. Sally Solomon, the two Emmys and the role on Leanne are enough public facts.

Image: SAMHSA, Kristen Johnston (2014), public domain, Wikimedia Commons.

Source consulted: Kristen Johnston — Television Academy.