Celeste Beard Johnson was born on February 13, 1963, in Culver City, California. The identity of her biological parents is not known. She met her birth mother only once in her life. During that meeting, her mother told her, "I am not your mother, I was just your incubator." This left Celeste with little connection to her origins.

As a child, Celeste was adopted by Edwin Johnson. She claimed that he physically abused her. This painful experience contributed to her struggles during her early years. She faced challenges during her adolescence and even attempted suicide during puberty.

At age 17, Celeste became pregnant and gave birth to twins. Their names were Jennifer and Kristina. The father of the twins was Craig Bratcher, who was her first husband. Celeste described him as abusive as well. Craig Bratcher sadly took his own life in 1996.

Throughout her life, Celeste married multiple times. Before meeting her final husband, Steven Beard, she worked as a waitress at a country club in Austin, Texas. Steven Beard was significantly older than Celeste. He was a retired Fox Broadcasting executive and a self-made millionaire. He had lost his first wife to cancer. After some time of knowing each other, Celeste moved in with Steven when he offered to adopt her twin daughters. They were married on February 18, 1995. However, friends and family of Steven were skeptical about Celeste's intentions and suspected she was interested in his wealth rather than in him as a person.

On October 3, 1999, Steven Beard was shot in the stomach while he slept in his home in Westlake Hills, Texas. After the shooting, he was taken to the hospital where he was treated but developed a blood clot and died on January 22, 2000. The police connected the shooting to Tracey Tarlton, a woman who had formed a close relationship with Celeste Beard Johnson in a mental health facility. They had met while both were getting treatment for depression. Over time, they realized they had romantic feelings for each other, but Celeste told Tarlton they could only be together if they killed Beard.

Tracey Tarlton confessed to the shooting days later and was arrested. The authorities began investigating Celeste Johnson and her comments about Beard. Tarlton remained quiet until July 2000 when she learned that Johnson had remarried just six months after Beard's death. This led Tarlton to tell the police that Johnson had encouraged her to shoot Beard, saying he had mentally abused her.

On March 28, 2002, Celeste Johnson was arrested based on Tarlton's testimony. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Johnson married Beard for his wealth and wanted him dead due to financial issues and her extravagant spending. Testimony from Beard's attorney indicated there were no plans for divorce. Meanwhile, Johnson’s attorney claimed that Tarlton acted alone and was not a reliable witness due to her mental health history. Some of Johnson's daughters also testified, and there were disagreements about the family dynamics during the trial.

In 2003, Celeste Johnson was convicted of capital murder. She received two consecutive 40-year life sentences and will be eligible for parole in 2042. Johnson has continued to assert her innocence. Tracey Tarlton received a reduced sentence of ten years for her cooperation and was released on parole in 2011. As of 2019, Johnson was incarcerated at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.