Quick Facts
Biography
LouAnne Johnson is an American writer, teacher and retired United States Marine. She is best known for the book My Posse Don't Do Homework, which was adapted as the film Dangerous Minds in 1995, and a TV series in 1996. She was portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer in the film, and by Annie Potts in the TV series.
Early life and education
Johnson grew up in Youngsville, Pennsylvania. After high school, she enrolled at Indiana University of Pennsylvania but dropped out after a few weeks and enlisted in the Navy in 1971, serving at Clark Air Base in the Philippines.
Career
She wrote about her experience of the service in her 1986 book Making Waves: A Woman in This Man's Navy. She later transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps. On leaving the Marines, she gained a master's degree in teaching English and, in 1989, went to teach at Carlmont High School in Belmont, California.