As an Emmy-winning anchor for ABC, Whit Johnson is used to fronting the news. But in 2022 he found himself at the center of a story thanks to a deep dive into his family tree. So what exactly inspired Johnson to explore his roots? And what remarkable discoveries did he stumble upon?
Good Morning America
Johnson somehow found the time to begin his search in between his duties for the ABC network. He is perhaps best-known for co-hosting the weekend editions of Good Morning America, of course.
But the star also serves as anchorman for World News Tonight on a Saturday. And yes, Johnson does work on a weekday, too.
ABC News
When he’s not sitting in the cozier confines of a TV network studio Johnson serves as a correspondent for ABC News. You may well have seen his reports on the likes of Nightline, 20/20, and ABC News Live to name just a few.
But you might not know that Johnson is not the only journalist in his family.
Andrea Fujii
Yes, Johnson’s other half Andrea Fujii also works for ABC News as a freelance correspondent. The married pair began dating while they were both employed by the same TV station in the Washington State city of Yakima.
They have since relocated for career reasons on several occasions and are proud parents to two young girls.
Secretary of State
A graduate of San Francisco State University, Johnson achieved his big break when he was hired as a Washington, D.C. correspondent for CBS News.
As you’d expect the star spent much of his time there reporting from Capitol Hill and the White House. But in 2011 he was tasked with following the secretary of state on a trip across the Middle East.
Olympics
Johnson then moved on to the NBC-owned, Los Angeles-based KNBC-TV. He subsequently picked up his first Emmy Award for his work on an automobile-repair scam and covered both the Sochi Winter Olympics and Rio Summer Games.
But Johnson also had to deal with several tragedies during his stint with the network.
Fatal standoff
For example, in 2013 Johnson had to spend nine consecutive hours on air covering Christopher Dorner’s fatal standoff with the Los Angeles SWAT team. The star has also reported on the 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino and the wildfires that destroyed swathes of southern California two years later.
And the hard-hitting stories kept on coming when he moved to ABC News.
Golden State Killer
That’s right: Johnson helped to cover the Golden State Killer’s long-overdue arrest and the volcano that began erupting on Big Island in Hawaii. In 2020 he was a vital part of the ABC News team that reported on the Democratic Party’s presidential primaries.
The exploration into the star’s family tree no doubt came as some welcome light relief!
23andMe
It was, in fact, Johnson’s mother who prompted him to start looking properly into his heritage. In a piece penned for ABC News’ website, the anchorman revealed that he used genetic testers 23andMe to help satisfy his mom’s curiosity.
Johnson’s ethnic background had previously been a mystery because of his father’s little-known past.
Adopted father
Yes, Johnson’s father had been adopted in Salt Lake City back in the early 1950s. And he was so determined not to upset his adoptive parents that he never even tried to find out about his biological ones.
But after getting divorced, Johnson’s mother started to think that it was about time that this long-running family mystery got solved.
What difference does it make?
Discussing how the subject came up, Johnson remarked, “I was over at her house with my wife. And we were just sitting around a breakfast table, when my mother was explaining to me that she bought me a DNA test because she wanted to know.
At first, I was reluctant, thinking, ‘What difference does it make?’”
No second thought
Johnson revealed that with his mom being European and Caucasian he initially believed that the results would only reveal a British heritage. But the star was eventually persuaded to deposit some saliva into a test tube, fill in the relevant form online, and wait patiently for confirmation.
Johnson claims, though, that he then didn’t actually give it a second thought.
The results arrive
That all changed, though, when the test results came back a month later. Johnson said of his genetic profile, “I… found some interesting things, especially about my ethnicity and my background.
Of course, it was from my mother’s side because she had already submitted her test to the site. We could see all the Western European, the British/Irish/Scottish, that sort of thing.”
Native-American blood
But Johnson was left surprised by something else that showed up in the results. Well, two other things to be precise.
Not only is the anchorman part-Basque Spanish, but he also has Native-American blood. Johnson wrote in his ABC News piece, “I knew instantly that must have been from my dad.”
Distant relatives
And this development finally appeared to pique Johnson’s interest in his family tree. He added, “I started navigating the website a little bit more and found this tab that pops up that reads, ‘Your DNA Relatives.’ Not knowing what I was doing, I clicked on the tab, and then this line of relatives pops up, but they’re all distant relatives, like third, fourth, fifth cousins.”.
Your Immediate Family
Johnson was left intrigued by the number of different names hailing from Spain that popped up. His own surname, of course, comes from his adoptive grandparents.
And as Johnson kept on clicking he eventually found his way to a section titled “Your Immediate Family.” It’s fair to say that it revealed far more than the anchorman ever expected.
Possible first cousin
“Warning: You may not know everything that is in here.” That was the slightly scary-sounding message that greeted Johnson after clicking on the aforementioned section. He went on to add, “I see my mother.
I was expecting that, but one other relative popped up, and it said, ‘Possible first cousin.’”
Under the umbrella
Johnson recalled, “I looked at that, and I started thinking, ‘My mother has siblings, but they didn’t have any kids.’” As far as the journalist was aware, he didn’t actually have any first cousins. He went on, “I was thinking, ‘First cousin, that’s a close relative.
That’s the immediate under the umbrella of your grandparents.’”
Shocked to the core
Now getting even more curious than his mother, Johnson clicked on the link to his possible first cousin. And the picture he then saw made him fall back into his chair.
The newsman even had to glance away from the computer screen for a few seconds to regain his composure. So what was it that seemed to shock Johnson to his core?
Spitting image
Well, the image was of someone the spitting image of Johnson’s father. The newsman explained, “At that moment, I knew this had to be my dad’s brother.
It had to be. Remember, we had no idea what the story was with my dad’s biological parents. We didn’t know if he had siblings or anything, but in that picture and the way this man was sitting in this chair, his eyes, his mouth, my dimples — I just knew it.”
Changing history
Of course, Johnson was fully aware that his investigative work would change everything his family thought they knew about their history. But he wasn’t prepared to simply let it slide.
Instead, the San Francisco State University graduate immediately started thinking about how to get in touch with the person he saw in the photo.
Multiple questions
Johnson admitted that he had never expected to stumble upon such a revelation. He wrote, “It was more just like, ‘Hey, you know, where are you from?’ That’s the question people want to know, ‘Where are you from? What part of the world? What ethnic background? What countries do you have some affiliation to?” He speculated that perhaps he might have distant relatives in different parts of the globe. .
Father’s previous wishes
But Johnson was also wary about going against his father’s previous wishes. The newsman explained, “He loved his father and mother, again, his adoptive parents, so much and felt like it would be an insult to them and the love and the life they gave him if he explored this.
They had passed away, his parents, my grandparents.” Yet as it turned out, the ABC star’s dad had already started looking into his family tree of his own accord.
Breaking the news
Johnson spoke with his mother, wife, and stepmother about how to break the news to the man most affected. His step-mom was actually with his father when she received the email that read, “Honestly, I’m kind of freaking out because I may have just found someone related to Dad.
VERY RELATED TO DAD.” She then revealed that his dad was more than willing to learn about this discovery.
“Tell me your story”
Having got his father’s blessing Johnson contacted the potential uncle figure that he found through 23andMe. And he didn’t have to wait long to get the response he was hoping for.
The man instantly replied, “Huh, I’ve been exploring all these DNA websites for years and never saw a relative this close. Tell me your story.”
Validation
Johnson told the mystery man that his father had been put up for adoption in Salt Lake City in 1950. And the response that came back confirmed everything that the Good Morning America host had previously believed on seeing the lookalike photo.
It read, “I think I’m your dad’s brother.”
“IJust tell me”
Of course, Johnson then had to relay this information to the man at the center of all the drama. Recalling the phone conversation they had, the anchorman wrote, “I’m like, ‘Dad, I think I found something incredible that’s gonna change all of our lives here,’ and I’m like, ‘You wanna know? What do you wanna know?’ He said, ‘You know what? Just tell me.’”.
Suppressing feelings
And it’s fair to say that Johnson’s father was deeply moved on hearing the news. He burst into tears.
The Emmy winner believes that this was a release of feelings that had been building up for years. Johnson theorized, “He had been trying to find a way to break through to start looking. He had been suppressing these feelings.”
Perfect gift
Johnson’s father was told just a couple of days before he celebrated his birthday. And the ABC News host reckons that this family news was the perfect gift, adding, “We opened this new door to him.
We walked him through it. He didn’t have to take that first step any more. We began this journey together.”
Email correspondence
And Johnson’s father and new-found uncle sure didn’t waste any time in getting in touch, either. In the very same day that they discovered the existence of each other, the pair started corresponding via email.
Before they knew it the brothers were also making arrangements to meet up face-to-face!
Union not reunion
Although he didn’t know anything about his new brother, Johnson’s uncle had been aware of the Good Morning America anchor. Yes, as a Utah native he’d watched the newsman back in his days as a Salt Lake City reporter.
So how did their reunion, or as Johnson calls it simply a ‘union,’ go?
Geeky traits
Luckily, everything appeared to go swimmingly. Johnson revealed he was amazed to discover just how alike his father and uncle were.
This included “some of their little geeky traits, how they’re into fixing things, and their habits, and how they walk and how their hands look the same and their dimples look the same.”
Plot twist
That wasn’t the end of the family revelations, either. It turned out that Johnson’s uncle had a daughter, too, and so the Emmy winner decided to meet up with his cousin alongside the rest of the family.
Then, in another plot twist there was yet another discovery: a third long-lost brother!
Another brother
Yes, after digging further into their family tree Johnson’s father and uncle found another matching genetic profile. The Good Morning America host explained, “So, my dad breaks the ice with this other brother who lives in Wyoming, and sends him a letter.
He tells him about this process, and how this all happened. And this brother wrote back and explained his story.”
Different story
This third brother’s story was slightly different. Although he, too, had been adopted he was raised by the biological grandparents of the mother all three siblings shared.
This means that he had some form of relationship with the woman who gave him away. It also meant that Johnson’s dad and first new-found uncle got the chance to find more about their mom.
Striking similarities
Johnson wrote, “And so my dad, within a short period of time, learned his mother’s name and saw a picture of her. They did a side-by-side comparison of childhood photos with my dad’s high school picture next to her picture about the same age.
And you see the striking similarities.”
All the feels
As you would expect another union then ensued. The third brother, who resides in the state of Wyoming, arrived with an array of family snaps and a whole load of stories about their shared family tree.
And Johnson doesn’t mind admitting that all these meetings gave him all the feels.
Journey continues
Johnson remarked, “With every step of the process, it was like a new wave of emotions. And it meant so much to my father, especially, since for years he was so reluctant to go on this journey, and here it is happening for him.” But said journey certainly hasn’t come to a complete standstill yet. .
Long-lost sister
That’s right: Johnson revealed that his father and his first newly-discovered uncle are now trying to find other family members. And that includes a long-lost sister whose whereabouts sadly remain unknown.
He remarked, “We would like to contact her at some point and share what we've found with her, but we haven’t been able to do that yet.”
Latest quest
And then there’s the quest to find all three men’s respective fathers. Johnson revealed that despite his family’s best efforts their identities remain a mystery for now.
But he remains hopeful that at least one will still be alive. He concluded, “There could be other siblings, because these fathers could have gone on to have bigger families down the road. So, who knows where the story goes from here?”