Dakota Johnson’s Parents: Everything She Said About Her Famous Family

Dakota Johnson has Hollywood pedigree from both of her parents, Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. Furthermore, the Madame Web star is the niece of Tippi Hedren and stepdaughter of Antonio Banderas.

Growing up with screen parents inspired Dakota to get into what she always considered a family business — but Don says she didn’t need his help anyway.

“No, she actually didn’t call me for advice,” he said on Late Night With Seth Meyers in March 2021. “She called me to say, ‘God, I want to meet you, but I have three pictures that I’m shooting at the same time.’ “

While Dakota’s parents love to talk about their daughter (as well as her longtime boyfriend, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin), now that she’s become a household name, she rarely talks about them. than. Here’s everything Dakota had to say about her famous parents.

Her family moved a lot when she was young

Dakota told Vanity Fair that she didn’t spend a full year in one place until fourth grade because she was on the road almost constantly while they were on set around the world. Griffith describes Dakota’s upbringing as a “privileged gypsy”.

“My life has been incredibly lucky and privileged, and the life I had growing up was remarkable — the places I went, the way we lived, and what we were able to experience,” Dakota said. experience”. “But we also struggled with internal family dynamics and overwhelmingly traumatic situations and events.”

She attended high school in one place for four years while living with Griffith and Banderas in Los Angeles.

Her father cut her off financially when she graduated from high school

Don explained on Late Night With Seth Meyers in March 2021 how and why he cut Dakota off financially when she finished high school.

“At the end of high school, I went to [Dakota] and said, ‘So, do you want to visit some colleges?’ Or something like that,” he recalls. “And she said, ‘Oh, no. I won’t go to college.’ He said she replied: “‘Don’t worry about it.’ “

Three weeks later, Dakota was cast in The Social Network. “And the rest, we might say, is movie history,” Don said proudly.

Her parents discouraged her from becoming an actress

Dakota knew from an early age that she wanted to become a star. However, her parents “prevented” her from acting. “See how well that worked out? But I understand,” she told W Magazine. “They wanted me to have as much of my childhood as possible.”

Griffith told Vanity Fair that she was “nervous” about Dakota working in Hollywood, but she “never worried about whether she had talent and magic.”

“I know how difficult it is to navigate all aspects of filmmaking,” said Griffith, “and I hope she learned some great tips from me! I think she did it.” But it was Dakota’s sense of self and awareness of life, love and hard work that got her through some scary times.”

She was afraid of the way Alfred Hitchcock treated her mother and grandmother

Dakota alleges that Alfred Hitchcock was a “tyrant” to her grandmother Hedren and ruined her career after Hedren rejected his advances – and he allegedly prolonged the pain his suffering with Griffith. Dakota said that when Griffith was a child, Hitchcock sent her a Hedren doll in a coffin.

“It was alarming and dark and really sad for that little girl,” Dakota told Vanity Fair. “Really scary.”

Dakota shared that she, Hedren, and Griffith watched HBO’s The Girl together. In it, Sienna Miller plays Hedren – and when Dakota looked at her grandmother during the movie, she saw “a woman who’s just been reminded of all she’s been through, and it’s heartbreaking.”

She later told Vogue UK that in addition to Hitchcock’s threats to Hedren’s career, she believed ageism played a role in why Hedren and Griffith weren’t in more films. hitherto.