Johanne Dybwad was daughter of a well-known Oslo lawyer and granddaughter of Johanne Dybwad (1867-1950), the leading actress in Norwegian theatre for half a century. To avoid confusion with har famous grandmother, she was often referred to as "Hannemor" by her family. She won her first slalom competition in 1933 at the age of 14. In the following years she emerged as one of the leading female alpine skiers in Norway. Her younger sister Stella was also a well-known alpine skier, placing sixth in alpine combined at the 1938 World Championships and winning all three events at the first Norwegian ski championships the same year. Dybwad finished her competitive career after the 1936 Olympics, married in 1939 and had four children. One of her daughters, Kari Garmann, was a member of the Norwegian Parliament from 1989-93.