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Magic Cookie Johnson Cover Story COMPLETE-0714
Magic Cookie Johnson Cover Story COMPLETE-0714
n
o
s
John
KEEPING UP
WITH THE
O N M AG I C : H IS OWN
C LOTH IN G A N D AC C ES S O R IES
O N C O O K I E : KAU F M A N
F R A N C O J U M P SU IT; G E M M A
R E D UX H O O P S ; DAV ID
YU R M A N C U F F; STUA RT
WE ITZM A N SA N DA LS
JUNE 2014
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TEAM PLAYERS:
The Johnsons are on
top of the world and
humbled by the journey:
Life is great, says
Magic reflectively. But
I still havent forgotten
where I came from.
IT WAS
AN
O N M AGIC : H I S
OW N CLOT H I N G
O N C O O KIE : SO N I A
RY K I E L CAR D I G AN ;
M AX M AR A TAN K ;
RO B E RTO CAVALLI
LO U N G E PAN TS;
M OVAD O WATCH ;
DAV I D Y U R M AN
BAN G LE
85-degree
Saturday morning in April when Cookie
and Magic Johnson were engaged in what
has become a relaxing weekend routine:
breakfast at a local Los Angeles restaurant, just the two of them.
And then boom! recalls Magic. His
phone began to buzz incessantly with
news alerts and tweets too numerous to
ignore. Gossip blogs and news commentators were reporting that Donald Sterling,
the owner of the NBAs Los Angeles Clippers, was caught on tape making racist
remarks, including a reference to an Instagram photo of Magic
Ive got to run home. Everythings
changed, Magic recalls saying in the
moment as his plans to take his wife to a
movieone of their favorite couples activitiesfell by the wayside. With one last
bite, he was off to be Magic the Elder
Statesman.
Days later, sitting in the Beverly Hills
office of Magic Johnson Enterprises Inc.,
the 54-year-old NBA legend-turned-businessman reflects on the week between his
EBONY interview and when news of the
tape first broke. While the situation had
little to do with him personally, Magic,
with his long history of being a trusted
authority in sports and business, personally stepped in as the ideal mediator. His
affable demeanor and megawatt smile
worked in tandem with his sage advice,
which kept players focused and helped
calm national outrage. Im glad that I
was able to stand up for our people and
be the voice, says Magic in retrospect.
But in truth, the media frenzy surrounding the incident that would later call for
the Clippers owners ouster brought out
the former star athletes competitive side,
which is never far away.
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V I S I T E B O N Y. C O M / J U L Y 2 0 1 4
amazed that many of the people he admires also are fans of his. When I first
started it all, I had to prove myself, he
recalls of his early days of business dealings shortly after his initial retirement
from the NBA. Fast-forward to now, and
its crazy; billionaires are coming to me!
Those billionaires are calling to partner
with Magic to buy the Clippersa move he
is still strongly considering.
Well have to see because the price
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99
Her time
to shine
F O R C O O K I E , sharing her husband with the world has been a fact of
life since they first met during their
freshman year of college in 1977 at Michigan State University. Ironically, after
14 years of dating on an off, followed by
the past 22 years of marriage, the tables
have turned. It is now Magic who has
had to adjust to sharing his wife with the
masses, specifically the women who cannot get enough of her jeans, CJ by Cookie
Johnson.
A businesswoman since her days as a
buyer at an Ohio department store in the
80s, Cookie, 55, also came out of retirement from being a full-time wife and
mom to finally pursuing her own dreams.
My goal was having my own company
and my independence, says the mompreneur who earned a college degree in
clothing and textiles retailing.
For the past five years, Cookie has
been devoting long hours to her premium
Revisiting
a love affair
T H E C O U P L E is also reconnecting
in new ways now that they are officially
empty nesters. Son EJ, 22, and daughter
Elisa, 19, both live in New York City.
The whole time weve been married,
weve had kids, says Cookie, her hand softly rubbing Magics leg. Now were back to
dating, which is great. I feel a little guilty
because were like, Yay, this is fun!
So are these two running around the
house naked like two teenagers? Almost,
but not quite. With a saucy smirk rarely
seen in public, Cookie says, Maybe once
we get rid of the company.
Grinning, Magic adds, Its not our style
to be naked, but [we get as] close to it as
we can. Were having a good time.
ON MAG I C : H IS
OWN CLOTH IN G
M A K E U P B Y S C H U R O N D . W O M A C K AT S C H U R O N W O M A C K . C O M F O R M A C C O S M E T I C S
H A I R S T Y L I N G A N D G R O O M I N G B Y TA R A C O P E L A N D AT K E N B A R B O Z A A G E N C Y U S I N G R U S K P R O D U C T S
In my quiet
moments is when
I cry inside to say,
Thank you, God,
that Im here
to see my kids,
play with my
grandkids.
Magic
O N C O O K I E : D IA N E VO N
F U R STE N B E RG S H IRT; C J BY
C O O KIE J O H N S O N WIS D O M
A N KL E S KIN N Y J E A N S ; M OVA D O
B R AC E L E T WATC H ; J IM M Y
CHOO ANOUK PUMPS; HER
OWN J E WE L RY
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101
O N M AG I C : H IS
OWN C LOTH IN G
A N D AC C ES S O R IES
ON COOKIE:
TO M E P L E ATE D
CA F TA N ; H . STE R N
B R AC E L E T; O S CA R
D E L A R E N TA
B E LT; D O LC E
& G A B BA N A
STR A P PY SU E D E
SA N DA LS ; H E R
OWN R IN GS
Life goes in phases, says
Cookie, relaxing with
Magic and Gizmo, and
so does marriage.
102
V I S I T E B O N Y. C O M / J U L Y 2 0 1 4
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103