Dakota Johnson Details Being Cut Off Financially From Dad Don Johnson
Dakota Johnson was fifty shades of determined to make it on her own when she officially began her acting career.
After not getting accepted into the famous Juilliard School in New York City, the daughter of actors Don Johnson and ex-wife Melanie Griffith went on to forge her own path into Hollywood, without a dime from her father.
"I didn't get in and my dad cut me off because I didn't go to college," the 35-year-old told her Materialists costar Pedro Pascal for an Elle U.K. interview, published May 14. "So, I started auditioning. I think I was 19 when I did The Social Network, and then little jobs and stuff after that."
Dakota—who made her onscreen acting debut as a child alongside her mom in the actress' then-husband Antonio Banderas' 1999 film Crazy in Alabama before appearing in a scene with Justin Timberlake in 2010's The Social Network, and years later, the Fifty Shades trilogy—remembers struggling financially after being cut off by her dad.
"For a couple of years it was hard to make money," she told Pedro. "There were a few times when I'd go to the market and not have money in my bank account or not be able to pay rent, and I'd have to ask my parents for help."
Dakota continued, "I'm very grateful that I had parents that could help me and did help me. But it certainly was not fun. The auditioning process, as you know, is the f--king worst."
Dakota has spoken before about how she was made to start an acting career on her own after high school after her dad cut her off financially.
"He said, 'If you go to college, you still get an allowance,'" the actress said about her dad in a February 2024 Today interview. "And I was like, 'Well, I'm going to be an actress.' So he was like, 'Alright, well you're on your own. I was cut off."
She said she turned to modeling to make rent money as she pursued acting. "I definitely like had moments where I couldn't afford groceries and things like that and needed to ask my mom to help me," she said. "She was the nice one."
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"For a couple of years it was hard to make money," she told Pedro. "There were a few times when I'd go to the market and not have money in my bank account or not be able to pay rent, and I'd have to ask my parents for help."
Dakota continued, "I'm very grateful that I had parents that could help me and did help me. But it certainly was not fun. The auditioning process, as you know, is the f--king worst."
Dakota has spoken before about how she struggled to make it in Hollywood on her own after high school after her dad cut her off financially.
"He said, 'If you go to college, you still get an allowance,'" the actress said about her dad in a February 2024 Today interview. "And I was like, 'Well, I'm going to be an actress.' So he was like, 'Alright, well you're on your own. I was cut off."
Dakota said she turned to modeling to make rent money as she pursued acting. "I definitely like had moments where I couldn't afford groceries and things like that and needed to ask my mom to help me," she said. "She was the nice one."
Don himself has also previously shared insight into the college ultimatum. "We have a rule in the family," the Nash Bridges alum said on Late Night With Seth Meyers in 2021, "that if you stay in school, you get to stay on the payroll."
He said that toward the end of Dakota's high school career, he asked his daughter if she wanted to visit some colleges. "And she went, 'Oh, no, I'm not going to college,'" he said. "And I went, 'OK. Well, you know what that means. I mean, you won't be on the payroll anymore, and how are you gonna manage?' And she says, 'Don't you worry about it.'"
Feeling fifty shades of confused about Dakota's family ties? Look back at her family tree.
Melanie Griffith and Don JohnsonDon Johnson and Patti D'ArbanvilleJesse Johnson
Melanie Griffith and Steven BauerAlexander BauerMelanie Griffith and Don Johnson (again)Dakota JohnsonDakota Johnson and Chris MartinMelanie Griffith and Antonio BanderasStella del Carmen Banderas3 GenerationsDon Johnson and Kelley Phleger
Atherton Grace JohnsonJasper Johnson
Deacon Johnson
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