Naomi Johnson

Naomi Johnson ( – ?) was an American showgirl and Ziegfeld Girl who performed in Broadway productions during the 1920s and early 1930s. Photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston described her as "the most beautiful of all Ziegfeld's beauties, past or present."

Early life and career Johnson was born around 1909 in New York City. While still in high school, she began working as a model for Ben Ali Haggin, who created the elaborate tableaux for Ziegfeld productions. She made her stage debut at the age of 16, appearing in the Ziegfeld Follies.

Johnson appeared in The Earl Carroll Vanities in 1928 and her final Broadway appearance was in Artists and Models in 1930, where she played a character named Naomi.

Photography and legacy

Johnson was extensively photographed by Alfred Cheney Johnston, who was under contract to do all of Ziegfeld's photography. Johnston promoted her as "the most beautiful of all Ziegfeld's beauties, past or present" and created numerous promotional and publicity photographs of her. Artist J. Knowles Hare created pastel portrait illustrations of Johnson based on Johnston's photographs.

Johnson's images by Johnston have been featured in modern publications about the Ziegfeld era, including Robert Hudovernik's Jazz Age Beauties: The Lost Collection of Ziegfeld Photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston.

The Tatler profiled Johnson in 1929, noting her dancing, singing, swimming, and golf, and describing her as having "a well-balanced head" and unlikely to be affected by fame.

Theatre credits Year Production Role Theatre Notes 1922 Just Because Ann 1922 Ziegfeld Follies Ensemble 1923 Ziegfeld Follies (Summer Edition) Ensemble 1925 Ziegfeld Follies Ensemble 1925 Ziegfeld Follies (Summer Edition) Ensemble 1927 Rio Rita One of The Gringitas / Ensemble 1928 The Three Musketeers Zoe Lyric Theatre 1928 The Earl Carroll Vanities 1930 Artists and Models Naomi