Magic Johnson Wife: Who is Cookie Johnson?

Cookie Johnson is a philanthropist, entrepreneur, and the wife of American former professional basketball player Magic Johnson.

Cookie and Magic met in the late 1970s as students at Michigan State University. When the two met at a campus party before Christmas break, Magic, a freshman, was already a well-known local athlete.

“I never asked her to dance,” he admitted to PEOPLE in 2016. “I just watched her dance and thought to myself, ‘I need to get to know that woman.’”

He asked for her phone number before leaving the party and continued to call her throughout the break. When school resumed the following semester, they began dating.

The couple has been married since 1991 and they have three children EJ Johnson, Andre Johnson and Elisa Johnson.

Magic Johnson has always maintained that Cookie is the source of meaning in his life. “The reason I live today, and why I work as hard as I do today, is for my wife and family,” Magic told PEOPLE in September 2016.

Cookie Johnson is also an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, using “her voice & platform, through speaking engagements and supporting organisations that relate to that community.”

Cookie Johnson launched her denim line, CJ by Cookie Johnson, in 2009, inspired by her frustration with finding jeans that fit her body type. When she realised that many other women shared her experience, she set out to design jeans for women whose bodies did not conform to fashion industry standards.