The Truth About Dakota Johnson's Famous Parents

These days, Dakota Johnson is a mega-star in her own right, thanks to her breakout role as Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades film franchise. However, the actress was introduced to the entertainment industry early in life, thanks to the fact that she comes from a family filled with fellow Hollywood celebrities.

Vogue notes that when Johnon was young, her parents, Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, who both had thriving acting careers at the time, "were on location for long stretches of her childhood, and Johnon tagged along, nannies and tutors in tow." Although she did go to school at times, she only attended each one for "a few months here or there." Johnson also struggled through her parents' divorce and their "well-publicized struggles with drugs and alcohol."

"I was so consistently unmoored and discombobulated. I didn't have an anchor anywhere," Johnson told Vogue in 2017. Perhaps because of that unstable situation, she started therapy when she was just three years old. "The whole shebang," she explained. "All the help you can get."

Read on to find out what Dakota Johnson's relationships with her famous parents are like now, including her so-called "bonus dad." 

Dakota Johnson is the main member of her family in the headlines, both for her acting and for her relationship with Coldplay's Chris Martin. However, back in the day, all eyes were on her grandmother, Tippi Hedren, who starred in 1963's The Birds. Tippi is the mother of Melanie Griffith, Johnson's mom.

While Johnson's relationship with her mom has experienced its ups and downs, the public got a view of how tense things can get between them when they showed up to the Oscars together in 2015. "There were frosty smiles all round" when red carpet reporters asked Griffith if she was proud of her daughter, according to the Independent. "I don't know. I'm so proud I've said it so many times it seems like it's not enough," Griffith answered in what the outlet deemed was a "flat voice."

Things didn't get any better when Melanie was asked if she had seen Dakota in Fifty Shades of Grey and admitted that she hadn't, explaining that she thinks "it would be strange." She added, "She's a really good actress. I don't need to see that to know how good she is." Apparently, that prompted a response from Johnson that had to be bleeped.

While the exchange may have been cringe-worthy, it turns out that Griffith isn't the only one hesitant to watch her daughter's steamy scenes. Her dad is also unwilling to check out her blush-worthy performance.

Anyone who watched TV back in the '80s could tell you that Don Johnson played the snazzily dressed Detective James Crockett on Miami Vice. In the years since, he's popped up as the title character on Nash Bridges, which ran from 1996 to 2001, and has appeared in roles like professional golfer David Simms in 1996's Tin Cup and plantation owner Spencer Gordon "Big Daddy" Bennet in 2012's Django Unchained. However, to Dakota Johnson, he's just Dad.

"[I] didn't have a clue that she was even interested," Don told Tv24 News in 2019 when asked if his daughter had always made it clear that she would one day pursue an acting career. "She was always joyful on the set ... but little did I know Miss Dakota was paying very close attention."

However, it turns out that like Melanie Griffith, Don didn't exactly snap up a ticket to see Fifty Shades of Grey. "There are certain images as a father you just don't need," he explained.

While Don may not be eager to check out the movie (or its follow-up films), we're sure he's still proud of Dakota. And the same can likely be said of her (super famous) step-dad.

When Dakota Johnson was six years old, her mother, Melanie Griffith, married The Mask of Zorro, Spy Kids, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico star Antonio Banderas. The two had a daughter, Stella, together, and Banderas also had a hand in raising Johnson.

"I got very lucky. I got a bonus dad who I realized that, over time, is actually one of the most influential people in my whole life," Johnson said, according to E! News, while presenting Antonio with a Hollywood Actor Award in November 2019. Although he's no longer married to her mother — Banderas and Griffith split in 2015 — he's obviously still adored by his step-daughter. She went on to say that Banderas "brought an unbelievably bright light, a whole new world of creativity and culture ... to our family."

"He was so vibrant and so fun and so funny and his English was abstract and we found it absolutely amazing," she continued. "He loved my mother, and my siblings and I so big, and so fiercely and so loud, that it would change all of our lives together."

Banderas, in turn, took the stage to say, "I love ... Dakota, for something very simple, because you always call me Papi, and still now you call me Papi and I love that! You have no idea how much I love that!"