Marjorie Johnson

Blue Ribbon Baker/Motivation Speaker/Positive Person

“I always liked to bake. I remember so well the first thing I baked. I was eight years old and I had baked a chocolate cake. After it was baked my mother and I had some cake. There was a knock on the back door and my mother went to the door and I heard her say. “Oh Doris, you must come in and have some of this cake Marjorie made. You'll never believe how great it is!” With that, Marjorie began a lifetime of baking.

Marjorie is winner of more than 1000 Blue Ribbons for her baking and has included 104 of these fabulous recipes in her cookbook “The Road to Blue Ribbon Baking with Marjorie”. She has also entered numerous recipe contests for years, and has won many prizes, including some big prizes in contests sponsored by General Mills, Paul Newman, and the Nestle Chocolate Company. She has been a Pillsbury Bake-Off finalist on three occasions. In November 2009, Marjorie won Martha Stewart’s first pie contest and showed Martha how to bake her prize winning pie on The Martha Stewart Show.

Her first appearance on national TV was on the Rosie O'Donnell talk show in November 1996. She was a featured guest twelve times until Rosie ended her show in 2002. Remembering their first meeting, Rosie O’Donnell quips, “The first time I met her, I couldn’t believe this adorable petite woman could have such a dynamic personality. She’s tough, hysterical, talks a mile a minute, has the biggest heart of anyone I know, and I just wanted to take her home with me.”

Marjorie was a regular on the syndicated “Wayne Brady Show” with twenty-three appearances during the two seasons that the show was on the air. Marjorie teamed up with Rosie again in 2006 when Rosie invited her back to New York City for a baking segment on The View. From 2007-2013, Marjorie was on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno with twenty-one appearances in baking segments, and also as a correspondent for such improbable events as the MLB All-Star game, the NBA Finals, the X-Games, the Emmys and the Las Vegas BikeFest. She also has been on The Talk, Dr. Oz and a frequent guest on The Hallmark Home and Family Show. In 2019, Marjorie celebrated her 100th birthday on The Kelly Clarkson Show, reunited with guest Jay Leno.

As much as she loves being on national TV, she considers it a treat to be on the local Twin Cities stations, with many appearances on KARE-11 with Belinda Jensen and Twin Cities Live on KSTP-TV. A Minnesota State Fair tradition, she is featured on the Joe Soucheray Radio show live from the Fair on opening day each year.
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Marjorie graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Home Economics, majoring in Foods in Business, and with a minor in Journalism. Marjorie was married to Dr. LeRoy Johnson, a retired dentist, for sixty-seven years, and she has three children and four grandchildren. She is a long-time residents of Robbinsdale, Minnesota. Marjorie was honored in April 2007 when the Mayor of Robbinsdale declared that April 30 was “Marjorie Johnson Day”. Marjorie is a frequent speaker and people are inspired by her fun and informative talks. She is also a judge at recipe contests.

“There are two things I love to do”, Marjorie pipes up when asked about her baking, “the first is bake and the second is talk. I especially like to talk about baking. So I am very happy baking and talking.” Happy Baking to all of you!