Vanessa Violet Johnston was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 29, 1991. She graduated high school early to pursue a degree in culinary arts before going to business school in Pennsylvania. After receiving a partial scholarship to the New York Film Academy, she decided to graduate early in February 2010, and move to Los Angeles. It was at the New York Film Academy that she found a profound passion for the craft of acting. She was cast in the CW reality show America's Next Top Model, which led to her staying in Hollywood.
Shortly after leaving ANTM, Johnston made her first television appearance playing Tara on the half hour sitcom How I Met Your Mother. After receiving a concussion from being hit by car as a pedestrian, Johnston retired from acting due to her inability to remember lines.
After a year of rehabilitation, Johnston returned in 2013 and made her film debut as Erika in Jurassic Block, a comedic sci-fi horror film.
