Early Life and Education
Born in Richmond, Surrey, Johnson was the second daughter of Robert Johnson and Ethel Griffiths. During her childhood, her family called her "Betty". Johnson's first public performance was in 1916, when she played a role in a charity performance of King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid to raise funds for returned World War I soldiers. She attended St Paul's Girls' School in London from 1919 until 1926, and played in the school's orchestra under Gustav Holst. She acted in school productions, but had no other acting experience, when she was accepted to study at R.A.D.A. in 1926, and later spent a term in Paris, studying under Pierre Fresnay at the Comédie Française. She later recalled her choice of an acting career with the comment, "I thought I'd rather like it. It was the only thing I was good at. And I thought it might be rather wicked.”
Read more about this topic: Celia Johnson
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