Before moving into the film world Bridget Johnson edited the Journal of the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art and then became editor of publications for the then-fledgling Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). She joined TriStar Pictures in 1983 as a story analyst, eventually rising to the position of vice president of production. In 1989, Johnson moved to the Touchstone Pictures division of Walt Disney Studios where she eventually rose to the post of senior vice president of production. During her tenures at TriStar and Disney, she worked on the development and production of the comedies