Chris Johnson was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota. After high school, he fled the cold winters of the Midwest for the Southern warmth of North Carolina. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ballet at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, where he also studied saxophone. He danced professionally with Ballet Austin, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the San Francisco cast of The Phantom of the Opera. He now lives and works in Los Angeles.