Jackie Johnson McBride (born January 23, 1980) is a former American weather forecaster and television personality, best known for her work on KCBS-TV news in Los Angeles, California. She stepped away from TV in 2018 to focus on her family and in 2025 launched The Weather Chef, a Santa Barbara-based platform pairing recipes with the day’s forecast.
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Biography
Johnson was born in Plymouth, Michigan. She initially attended the University of South Alabama, concentrating on meteorology. Johnson eventually graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. She then moved to Florida to work as a reporter and weekend weather anchor for WCTV-TV in Tallahassee, and then was employed in similar roles at WSVN-TV in Miami. After a move to Los Angeles, Johnson was the prime-time weather anchor for KCAL 9 News until 2010, and then occupied the same position at KCBS-TV, their sister station in the city, until retiring in 2018.
Johnson is divorced from former National Football League player John Kidd. She married Patrick McBride, co-founder and co-CEO of Coastal Ridge on December 31, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. On January 12, 2018 she gave birth to her daughter Bridgette Claudette. Johnson lived in Malibu until the Woolsey Fire in November 2018, when she was forced to relocate and moved to Nashville for four years. Her son Brett Dennis was born on November 1st, 2020, and her family moved to Santa Barbara in 2023.
Film and television
Johnson has appeared in a handful of films and television shows, typically playing a meteorologist or news anchor. In 2012, she appeared as herself in the movie Battleship.
In June of 2025, Johnson was featured on Fox Weather to share her Clam Bake on the Grill recipe for summer gatherings. Later that summer, in July, she shared her tips for healthy heating on ABC Nashville. Since launching The Weather Chef she’s been a repeat guest on KTLA sharing seasonal recipes and custom tablescapes. In June of 2026 she appeared on “The Conversation with Pat Harvey” to discuss her new project.