Jessica Willams (born April 29, 1985) better known by her stage name Punkie Johnson, is an American comedienne, actress, and writer based in New York City. Johnson was a stand-up comedian at The Comedy Store, before becoming a featured player on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live for its 46th season in 2020. She was promoted to repertory status in 2022, at the start of the show's 48th season, and left after the show's 49th season in 2024. She is the eighth African American female cast member in the show's history, and the second Black lesbian cast member, after Danitra Vance in the 1985-1986 season, and the seventh LGBT cast member overall.
Johnson began her career as a stand-up comedian. She later joined The Comedy Store in Los Angeles as a paid regular. In 2019, Johnson performed at Just for Laughs.
As an actress, Johnson appeared in various television series such as Space Force, A Black Lady Sketch Show, Corporate, and Adam Ruins Everything.
Johnson is the eighth African-American female cast member in the show's history, and the second African-American LGBT woman to be a cast member (following Danitra Vance, who was not publicly out during her lifetime), and the seventh LGBTQ cast member overall.
Impressions[]
- Queen Latifah
- Brittani Warwick
- Hariet Tubman
- Sunny Hostin
- Angel Reese
- Ice Spice
- Kamala Harris
- Gayle King
- Deobra Redden
- Wanda Sykes
- Mary J. Blige
Characters[]
- Shayna
