Born in Jackson, Wyoming, Johnson grew up in nearby Victor, Idaho, and made her World Cup debut in December 2015. She attended Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, where she pursued a degree in English.[4] Inher first World Cup season in 2017, she finished 18th in the downhill standings. Atthe World Cup finals in March at Aspen, Johnson crashed in the downhill and suffered a tibial plateau fracture to her left leg.[5][6] Johnson quickly recovered from this injury and in the 2018 season finished 11th in the downhill standings and competed in the Winter Olympics, finishing seventh in the downhill and fourteenth in the super-G.
She returned to the World Cup circuit in January 2020 with a 25th in the downhill at Altenmarkt and consecutive top tens at Bansko. Her first World Cup podium came in December 2020 at a downhill in Val d'Isère, France. She qualified to represent the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics,[9] but injured her knee in January 2022 and did not compete.[10]
Johnson served a 14-month competition ban issued by the United States Anti-Doping Agency from October 2023 to December 2024 for an anti-doping rule violation after missing three tests during a 12-month period ("Whereabouts Failures").[11] At the 2025 World Championships, she won the gold medals in downhill and team combined. That was the inaugural race of the team combined, where Johnson skied the downhill and Mikaela Shiffrin skied the slalom.[12][13] At the Toyota U.S. Alpine Championships, Johnson was awarded with the 2025 Stifel Alpine Best Comeback (Women) award.[14]
2026 Winter Olympics
Johnson won the women's downhill at the 2026 Winter Olympics at the Olimpia delle Tofane in Cortina d'Ampezzo, earning the United States' first medal for the games with a time of 1:36.10.[15] She is the second American athlete to win gold in this event, following Lindsey Vonn in 2010. While celebrating her victory after the medal was placed on her neck, the medal broke.[16]
Shortly before she finished high school, Johnson's parents legally changed her first name from Breanna to Breezy to match her nickname.[17] She came out as bisexual in 2022.[18] Johnson became engaged to construction professional Connor Watkins on February 12, 2026, on the ski slopes after completing her final event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.[19] Johnson and Watkins met on dating app Bumble, and the box for her engagement ring featured a quote by singer Taylor Swift's song "The Alchemy": "Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy."[20]
