As a bona fide billionaire and basketball royalty – he played for the LA Lakers and is considered the greatest point guard of all time – Earvin “Magic” Johnson and his wife, Cookie Johnson, are no stranger to living large. This summer though, the pair have been treating fans to glimpses of their lavish lifestyle, sharing photos on Instagram from their recent holiday celebrating the Fourth of July in Europe. Alongside long-time friends John and Vicki Palmer, Samuel L.
Jackson and LaTanya Jackson, and Cedric the Entertainer and his wife, Lorna Wells – and a Jimmy Kimmel cut-out – the Johnsons have been sailing the Mediterranean aboard the Phoenix 2 superyacht. {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Magic Johnson and Cookie Johnson posed with friends in front of the Phoenix 2 superyacht after dinner in Antibes, France.
Photo: @magicjohnson/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/22/eb1f5e41-c1c7-4240-ab09-cbce3827f2a6_8a66ae79.
jpg"} Magic Johnson and Cookie Johnson posed with friends in front of the Phoenix 2 superyacht after dinner in Antibes, France. Photo: @magicjohnson/Instagram Keeping the tradition of their annual Mediterranean holiday alive, the Johnsons enjoyed time in Spain, exploring Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca before sailing to France, where they had an 80s-themed party, and enjoyed dinner at Mamo Michelangelo in Antibes. Here’s everything to know about the woman Magic Johnson has described as the reason he is alive today, per People.
What is Cookie Johnson’s background? {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Cookie Johnson attends the Fifteen Percent Pledge Gala at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, in February. Photo: @thecookiej/Instagram","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/22/46f6d1a0-1a8e-40eb-910e-3faa26b6fcde_7390c88c.jpg"} Cookie Johnson attends the Fifteen Percent Pledge Gala at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, in February.
Photo: @thecookiej/Instagram Per AL.com, Cookie Johnson was born Earleatha Kelly in Huntsville, Alabama. She was named for her father, Earl Kelly, and her mother nicknamed her “Kookie” after a teen idol character on the popular 77 Sunset Strip TV show.
She has two siblings, Pat and Harold Earl. The name “Cookie” came about when she started using it herself before first grade - and it stuck. Cookie attended Councill Training School in Huntsville until she was six years old, which is when the family moved to Detroit.
She met Magic Johnson at a college party {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"In 2021, Cookie Johnson marked her 30th wedding anniversary by posting this throwback photo with Magic Johnson to Instagram. Photo: @thecookiej/Instagram","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/22/27cb80b2-ba17-4824-9df3-246d4c7b7c75_d7491f3d.jpg"} In 2021, Cookie Johnson marked her 30th wedding anniversary by posting this throwback photo with Magic Johnson to Instagram.
Photo: @thecookiej/Instagram It was love at first sight for Magic, who met Cookie in the 70s while they were both students at Michigan State University. On The Jennifer Hudson Show , he described spotting his future wife at a party, describing her as wearing the “tightest jeans” that “caught a brother’s eye”. The pair were briefly introduced by a mutual friend before Cookie took to the dance floor.
As the night came to a close, Magic waited for her by the door and asked for her number. What is their relationship like? {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Magic Johnson and his wife Cookie Johnson wearing Dolce & Gabbana outfits to dinner in Portofino, Italy.
Photo: @magicjohnson/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/22/98068805-77c9-4185-aee8-72edd5e272f4_7390c88c.
jpg"} Magic Johnson and his wife Cookie Johnson wearing Dolce & Gabbana outfits to dinner in Portofino, Italy. Photo: @magicjohnson/Instagram As romantic as their first encounter was, the Johnsons’ relationship hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Magic was rumoured to have cheated on Cookie multiple times before they got married, and while the couple were on a break in 1981, his ex-girlfriend Melissa Mitchell gave birth to their son André Johnson.
Despite proposing to Cookie, Magic also called off their engagement twice. The third time, Cookie gave him an ultimatum, saying, “If you’re going to break the engagement, we’re breaking up [for good],” per People. {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"For their anniversary in 2023, Cookie Johnson shared this photo of herself with her husband Magic Johnson at their wedding in September 1991. Phoot: @thecookiej/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/22/764f8f42-868a-4420-a262-9abcb22779ee_5adb1d89.jpg"} For their anniversary in 2023, Cookie Johnson shared this photo of herself with her husband Magic Johnson at their wedding in September 1991. Phoot: @thecookiej/Instagram The couple finally got married in September 1991 .
.. but then, in 2001, the couple had a two-week separation after a public spat during an after-party the night he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Despite everything, the Johnsons seem to be going strong 32 years into their marriage. Cookie gave birth to their son, Earvin “EJ” Johnson III, in 1992, and the couple adopted their daughter, Elisa Johnson, in 1994. She is a devout Christian {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Cookie Johnson celebrated her son EJ’s birthday in June with this Instagram post. Photo: @thecookiej/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/22/01794b29-1739-4769-b233-f6cf6f173dc8_2f451ae2.jpg"} Cookie Johnson celebrated her son EJ’s birthday in June with this Instagram post. Photo: @thecookiej/Instagram In November 1991, Magic stunned the world when he announced that he had tested positive for HIV and would be retiring from the Lakers .
Following the public announcement, a then pregnant Cookie “ran toward the Lord”, she told Called Magazine, and stood by her husband even when he gave her the choice to walk away. Magic admitted to People that her strength and support saved his life, telling the magazine that “ if Cookie had left I’d probably be dead now”. Once again, it Cookie’s faith that helped her embrace her son EJ when he came out as gay.
She told Oprah Winfrey on SuperSoul Sunday that she could accept her son after praying to God. She now advocates for LGBTQ+ rights. She’s an entrepreneur, author and philanthropist {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Cookie Johnson at the Magic Johnson’s Holiday Hope event in Los Angeles, in 2002. Photo: @thecookiej/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/22/2c39dd2a-617f-46e8-bd67-10388e110058_7390c88c.jpg"} Cookie Johnson at the Magic Johnson’s Holiday Hope event in Los Angeles, in 2002. Photo: @thecookiej/Instagram In 2009, Cookie founded the premium denim brand CJ by Cookie Johnson, which shut down in 2015.
In 2016, she became a New York Times best-selling author with her memoir Believing in Magic . She is a board member of SodexoMagic, a food and facilities management company founded in 2006 as a partnership between Sodexo and Magic Johnson. She is also a member of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture Council and is a spokesperson for women’s rights.
Cookie also uses her platform to raise awareness about HIV/Aids and is an inspirational speaker. Former LA Lakers point guard Magic Johnson met his wife Cookie Johnson at a party while in college; the couple married in 1991, 2 months before his shock HIV diagnosis and retirement from the Lakers Cookie is a fashion brand founder, bestselling author and philanthropist; she’s also a deeply religious woman who Magic credits with saving his life.
