If you don’t know her from Bad Times at the El Royale or How to Be Single, you’ll absolutely, positively know her from the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. We’re talking, of course, about the incomparable Dakota Johnson, a Jill-of-all-trades whose acting prowess knows no bounds. The 33-year-old Texas native made her film debut at the age of 10 with a minor role in the dark comedy film Crazy in Alabama (1999), alongside her mother, Melanie Griffith, who starred in the lead role as Lucille Vinson, the eccentric aunt of Peter Joseph “Peejoe” Bullis (Lucas Black). After recognizing her natural knack for acting, Johnson began auditioning for roles left and right, eventually landing a minor role in 2010’s The Social Network.
In 2015, Johnson had her breakout role in the live-action adaptation of E. L. James’ erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey as reluctant submissive Anastasia Steele opposite Jamie Dornan’s power-hungry billionaire-dominant Christian Grey. For her role as Anastasia, Dakota Johnson received a nomination for the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2016. Form there, her career only soared to even greater heights; she found success in the supernatural horror film Suspiria (2018) and psychological drama The Lost Daughter (2021) from Jake Gyllenhaal’s older sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal. All of this talent had to have come from somewhere, and Maggie Griffith and Don Johnson must be beyond proud.
Who are Maggie Griffith and Don Johnson?
Both actors, Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson paved the way for their daughter to follow in their footsteps. Johnson, 73, might be most famous for his portrayal of James “Sonny” Crockett in the 1980s television series Miami Vice, which earned him a Golden Globe, as well as a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. In 1996, Johnson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is no small feat nowadays. He’s appeared in timeless classics like A Boy and His Dog (1975), Tin Cup (1996), Machete (2010) and Django Unchained (2012), but modern audiences will know him best as the money-hungry husband of Jamie Lee Curtis’ Linda Drysdale in Rian Johnson’s epic murder-mystery Knives Out (2019). But that isn’t all Johnson can do. He’s also an accomplished singer-songwriter, finding success with the albums Heartbeat (1986) and Let It Roll (1989). In the coming years, Johnson will be appearing in the independent comedy film A Little White Lie (2023), an upcoming thriller Rebel Ridge and action flick High Heat in as-of-yet undisclosed roles.
As for Melanie Griffith, 65, she began her career in the 1970s, mainly appearing in low-budget independent thrillers before finding mainstream success in the ’80s. At just 17 years old, Griffith appeared opposite Gene Hackman in Arthur Penn’s neo-noir film Night Moves, then turned heads as Holly Body in Brian De Palma’s thriller Body Double (1984), which earned her a National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress. However, it was 1988’s Working Girl that earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and later won her a Golden Globe. More recent endeavors include a stint as the voice of Margalo in Stuart Little 2 (2002) and appearances in Nip/Tuck, Raising Hope, and Hawaii Five-0 during the early 2000s.
In 1972, Johnson met Melanie Griffith, who — at the time — was the 14-year-old daughter of his Harrad Experiment co-star Tippi Hedren. By the time Griffith was 15, she and Johnson were living together in a rented house in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles. It was on Griffith’s 18th birthday that she and Johnson became engaged, and were later married in January 1976. However, they separated that July and finally divorced in November. As Today reiterates, “Johnson and Griffith reunited close to the start of 1989, and gave birth to a daughter, Dakota Johnson (born October 4, 1989) and were married again from that year until 1996.”
Dakota Johnson herself has been dating Coldplay co-founder and lead vocalist Chris Martin since 2017. The pair currently reside in Malibu, California. As for Don and Melanie, the former is married to Kelley Phleger, with whom he has three children — Atherton Grace (born December 28, 1999), Jasper Breckinridge (born June 6, 2002), and Deacon (born April 29, 2006) — while the latter hasn’t had much luck in the love department; she was married to Antonio Banderas (the voice of Puss in Boots) from 1996 to 2015, but even though it didn’t work out, his former stepdaughter Dakota Johnson has stated she considers Banderas part of the family, calling him — according to Showbiz CheatSheet — a “bonus dad.”