Dakota Johnson
4 October 1989
Austin, Texas, USA
5' 7½" (1,71 m)
In 1999, she made her film debut in Locos en Alabama (1999), where she and her half-sister, Stella Banderas, played the daughters to their real-life mother, Melanie Griffith. The film was directed by her stepfather, Antonio Banderas, but it wasn't a hit. Dakota resumed her schooling and waited several years before she decided to become a professional actress and model. In 2006, she was voted Miss Golden Globe, a launching pad bestowed on off-spring of famous parents. She served as the first second-generation Miss Golden Globe in the Globes' history, since her mother was Miss Golden Globe in 1975. She also signed with IMG Models. In 2009, she modeled for MANGO brand's jeans line. Dakota traveled to Sydney, Australia, where she shot the "Rising Star" campaign for fashion label, "Wish". Once she graduated from high school, she signed with the William Morris Agency and started her acting career. She had her first box office hit in 2010 with David Fincher's film, La red social (2010), in which she had a scene with Justin Timberlake. The film received eight Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. She also appeared in three additional films: El corazón de la bestia (2011), alongside Vanessa Hudgens and Mary-Kate Olsen; Ezna Sands' film, Chloe & Theo (2015); and So Yong Kim's film, For Ellen (2012); She had roles in several 2012 films: Christopher Neil's film, Goats (2012), with David Duchovny; Nicholas Stoller's film, Eternamente comprometidos (2012), for producer Judd Apatow, and the hit feature film version of the 1987 television show, Nuevos policías (1987), that made Johnny Depp a star. She also won the female lead in Chris Nelson's, film Date and Switch (2014), written by Alan Yang. Her first television show, Ben and Kate (2012), where she played "Kate", aired on Fox during the Fall 2012 season. It was canceled in 2013, and she quickly resumed her feature film career with three high-profile films: "Need for Speed," the modern-day adaptation of the William Shakespeare play "Cymbeline," and the starring role of Anastasia in the adaptation of the best-selling erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey." - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tariq I. Samy
Daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith.
Has two maternal half-siblings: Stella Banderas and Alexander Bauer, her mother's son with Steven Bauer.
Has four paternal half-siblings: Jesse Johnson, Grace (b. 1999), Jasper (b. 2002), and Deacon Johnson (b. 2006).
Good friends with Riley Keough.
Step-daughter of Antonio Banderas.
Born in Austin, Texas and Melanie's OB GYN was Noble Doss. Pictures of Melanie can be seen in Dr. Doss's photo album in his office.
She is the third generation to be involved with the Golden Globes, as she was Miss Golden Globe in 2006, is the daughter of Don Johnson (Golden Globe winner for Corrupción en Miami (1984)) and Melanie Griffith (Golden Globe winner for Armas de mujer (1988)), and granddaughter of Tippi Hedren (Golden Globe winner for Most Promising Newcomer, 1964).
She denied that she was in a a 30 day rehab program at the Visions Teen Treatment Center in Malibu for drug and alcohol addiction in September 2007. She said that the press misinterpreted the fact that she was in therapy as a teenager because of some issues with her parents, who have both battled substance abuse.
Niece of actress Tracy Griffith and production designer Clay A. Griffith.
Granddaughter of Peter Griffith.
She took down her Facebook profile, because she didn't like being on it, even though she acted in the hit film La red social (2010) which is about the origins of Facebook.
Was considered one of the 55 faces of the future by Nylon Magazine's Young Hollywood Issue (May 2010).
On the audio commentary for the DVD release of La red social (2010), director David Fincher said that Dakota was "wonderful" in a "pretty thankless role," since she has only one scene as Justin Timberlake's one-night stand.
Once lived with musician Noah Gersh and later with actor Jordan Masterson.
Landed the coveted role of Anastasia Steele in the film adaptation of the best-selling erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey" by reading a long, sexually-explicit monologue from the Ingmar Bergman film Persona (1966). It was an unconventional choice for an audition piece, but Johnson felt that the filmmakers were looking for a leading lady who would address the sexy material in a mature, direct manner. When she advanced to screen testing she re-enacted the first and last chapters of the book with co-star Jamie Dornan.
As a child, she acted with her mother Melanie Griffith and her half-sister Stella Banderasin "Crazy in Alabama" (1999) but her family wouldn't let her act again until several years later, after she graduated from high school.
She appeared in the successful feature film remake of Infiltrados en clase (2012), while her aunt Tracy Griffith appeared as a guest star during the original television series of 21 Jump Street (1987) in 1988.
Director Sean Baker considered casting Dakota and her real-life grandmother Tippi Hedren together in his film Starlet (2012) before deciding on Besedka Johnson and Dree Hemingway.
At 25 years old in 2014, and with just a handful of credits, she has already acted with many popular sexy men in her films, such as Channing Tatum, Jamie Dornan, Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Justin Timberlake, Aaron Paul, Alex Pettyfer, Chris Pratt, Penn Badgley, Paul Dano, Jason Segel, Ralph Fiennes, Ethan Hawke, Anton Yelchin.
She affectionately calls her grandmother Tippi Hedren, "Mormor" (a Swedish word for grandmother). Tippi's father was of Swedish descent. Dakota's other ancestry is English, Welsh, German, Norwegian, Scots-Irish (Northern Irish), Irish, Scottish, and distant Dutch.
She is close friends with Nashville-based decorator Emily Ward, who happens to be the wife of The Black Keys drummer Patrick J. Carney.
Claims that she never casually dated men, and that she always had long-term relationships with her boyfriends.
Like her grandmother Tippi Hedren, Dakota is also a animal rights activist, since she saved twelve horses from being killed by paying for them in 2014.
Her Cincuenta sombras de Grey (2015) director Sam Taylor-Johnson recommended her to director Luca Guadagnino, who cast her in the remake of La piscina (1969) in the role originated by Jane Birkin. She was nervous stepping into the role that she landed just days before filming, but her co-star Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton calmed her down and affectionately nicknamed her "Cousin Duckie".
Prior to landing the role of Anastasia Steele, Johnson's most recognized roles included being Sean Parker's one night stand in La red social (2010), a high school student in Infiltrados en clase (2012), and a neurotic ex-girlfriend in Eternamente comprometidos(2012). All three roles are considered by many to be scene stealing, but they totaled less screen time than the average music video.
She did not tell anyone about being involved in the auditioning process for the role of Anastasia Steele. She has said that if the project fell through or she wasn't selected she didn't want to have to explain herself or the process repeatedly. After she was cast as Anastasia, she couldn't tell anyone for weeks as the studio prepared an official casting announcement.
After being selected for the role of Anastasia Steele, she screen-tested with over 20 actors before the studio decided on who to cast as Christian Grey.
Johnson replaced Abby Elliott as a young, single mother named Kate on the short-lived Fox sitcom, Ben and Kate (2012). The show lasted only 16 episodes before being canceled by the network. The final three episodes were never aired in the United States.
Johnson started an exercise routine to prepare for Cincuenta sombras de Grey (2015), but not just because she wanted to look good on screen. She wanted Anastasia to have the appearance of an average, active college student.
She had to apply body make-up to cover her tattoos for Cincuenta sombras de Grey(2015). Her tattoos are visible in every other project and photo shoot she has done.
Johnson auditioned in front of Judd Apatow for a role in HBO's Girls (2012) but was not selected. Apatow later recommended her for a small role as a neurotic, sex-obsessed girlfriend named Audrey in Eternamente comprometidos (2012), which he produced. Her performance as Audrey caught the attention of Jake Kasdan who cast her as a last-minute replacement in Ben and Kate (2012).
She reportedly beat out Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Olsen, Shailene Woodley, Lucy Hale, Chloe Bridges Felicity Jones, Kristen Stewart, and her Need for Speed (2014) co-star Imogen Poots to land the coveted role of Anastasia in the box-office hit Cincuenta sombras de Grey (2015).
Johnson did not utilize a body double for any scenes in Cincuenta sombras de Grey (2015) except for one BDSM scene. A double was used for a scene involving the character, Anastasia, being whipped with a belt. Johnson did not want to participate in the scene to avoid personal injury and to avoid her body being marked in any way.
Whenever she is truly laughing she cries. She has stated that it has become a nuisance on film sets because she has to constantly have her make-up touched up in between takes.
Announced during the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary special on February 15, 2015 that she was set to host SNL on February 28, 2015.
Attended the New Roads School in Santa Monica, CA for three years.
Has said her biggest sacrifice was accepting the role of Anastasia Steele because the entire world can see her completely naked.
Three things she always carries in her purse: keys, chap-stick, and candy.
Her favorite song on the Cincuenta sombras de Grey (2015) soundtrack is "Beast of Burden" by The Rolling Stones.
Johnson took a flogger and several pairs of underwear from the set of Cincuenta sombras de Grey (2015). She took the underwear claiming they were too comfortable to leave behind.
Her favorite book is the 1955 novel, Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov.
Was a presenter at the 87th annual Academy Awards on February 22, 2015. Johnson attended the ceremony with her mother, Melanie Griffith.
Ended her relationship with Welsh model, Matthew Hitt, in February 2015 after three months. The couple reconciled in April 2015.
Has collaborated with Nicholas Braun twice; they appeared together in Date and Switch(2014) and again in the short film, In a Relationship (2015). Both times they played a struggling young couple.
Is close friends with Riley Keough. She served as a bridesmaid in Keough's wedding on February 4, 2015.
Despite the fact that there have been continuous rumors stating she does not get along with her Cincuenta sombras de Grey (2015) co-star Jamie Dornan and vice versa, the two are actually on good terms with one another.
Personal Quotes
[on why she chose to be an actress] I felt so much when I was fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, I felt everything. I didn't understand [myself], I was so happy yet so angry and sad. That was the point when I realized that I needed to tell stories and make characters come alive and I needed to make people cry, and make people angry, and make people happy, and make them laugh.
When I did 'The Social Network', David Fincher told me that I managed to make a thankless character pretty awesome. I thought that was really cool because I think he's really cool.
I've only been in long-term relationships. I've never really dated myself.
I'm so happy when I'm working.
I'd watch my parents work and think, 'Yeah, I'm going to do that.' It wasn't even a thing. It's the only thing I know how to do.
I love doing improv. I love comedy. I have always felt this way, even when I was really young.
[on receiving the call she was cast as Anastasia Steele] They said 'You got the offer' and I couldn't speak. I was just so relieved. I was crying and crying. Water was literally squirting out of my eyes because I had been so stressed out. And there's this giant Doberman Pincher laying on the bed next to me. And he just slowly fell asleep. It was so special and [this dog] didn't give a fuck about me and what I was going through.
I didn't have any training in comedy or in improvisation. It was sort of scary at first, because it's a big thing to be working with those guys, because they are like the funniest people around right now. But once I got a handle on the way that they work, it was just so much fun. They improvised on 21 Jump Street as well. I went straight from The Five-Year Engagement to 21 Jump Street, so I had a bit of a handle on how to work with these guys.
[on using improv techniques for The Five-Year Engagement] Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel told me about what they wanted the base of this character to be, and then they gave me a lot of free range to do what I wanted. Obviously they use improv a lot, so I was pretty much able to create this character and make her really weird, annoying, and abrasive.
[on being asked about her family] It's not necessarily annoying. I've come to understand the allure of that to other people, how it seems so interesting and different. But for me it's just my family, it's the way I grew up and it's my mom and my dad. It doesn't really bother me because I get it, but sometimes it's kind of a drag to talk about. People ask me about my grandmother (Tippi Hedren) a lot, too.
[on Fifty Shades of Grey] I just really understand it. I think it's an incredible love story and that's why it's affected so many people. Erica (EL James) did a really good job of explaining how that just can happen sometimes and you have this chemical pull to someone. Adding in the sex makes it perfect. Sometimes you feel a little bit naughty and that's okay.
[reading Fifty Shades of Grey] Reading the book, I found myself more interested in the ways they were breaking each other down emotionally than the sex scenes. I think there's a part of a woman that wants to be the thing that breaks a man down.
[on preparing to be Anastasia Steele] It's a lot of getting into the character's head, Ana's headspace, kind of before she meets Christian. So it's a lot of reading, which I love, but she's an English major, so that's kind of boring.
[on Ben and Kate] I think that we're trying to bring back the idea of family being really important, instead of just having a TV show about funny people doing funny things all the time.
[on growing up with famous parents] I think people, especially the press, like to pick on children of famous people and I think that's fucking awful. Things get made up. It's so, so sad. And there's absolutely nothing you can do about it as a 16-year-old. You're like, Why? What did I do?
[on her grandmother Tippi Hedren] She is the most glamorous woman I've ever seen. She's so beautiful and smart and a real, true class act. She's just extraordinary.
[on her younger half-sister Stella Banderas] She's the smartest person in our family.
[on the Red Room of Pain] The scenes in that room were definitely the most vulnerable scenes in the movie, but it was a closed set. My mom told me that it's my right to ask for that during intimate scenes, so it seemed like Jamie [Dornan], Sam [Taylor-Johnson], and I were in this little world together.
[on researching the role of Anastasia Steele] I wanted to keep myself distanced from it [BDSM] at first because I wanted Ana's reaction to certain things to be real, like new. To me, there's something really honest in wanting to completely give up control for just a second.
I feel like women are so drawn to Christian [Grey] because he is very elegant and ambitious and smart and strong. I don't know if I would have the patience that Ana has for him, though.
[on preparing to become Anastasia Steele] It was important to me that Ana's body look like that of an active college student. And I was going to be naked, so I wanted to look good. I did a lot of working out and had more waxing than any woman should have!
[on being naked with co-star Jamie Dornan] Jamie would be the first one to throw a blanket over me.
[on filming Fifty Shades of Grey] There were some painful moments. I got whiplash once from [Jamie Dornan] throwing me on the bed. So fucking painful.
[on filming BDSM sex scenes] It's stressful enough to be tied to a bed naked in a scene. But then they call 'cut' and you're still tied to the bed, naked.
It was disappointing when Charlie [Hunnam] left [Fifty Shades of Grey], but everything happened the exact way it was supposed to, I think.
[on filming Fifty Shades of Grey] Sometimes I did walk off the set feeling a bit shell-shocked. The drive home from work helped me snap out of it. And a big glass of wine.
I think about my dwindling anonymity, and that's really scary because a very large part of me would be perfectly happy living on a ranch in Colorado and having babies and chickens and horses - which I will do anyway.
[Colorado] was like a dream world. I loved it more than anything. My dad (Don Johnson) taught me how to build a fire, ride a horse, ride a motorcycle, and shoot a gun - before I was nine. That's really all you need.
[on post-Fifty Shades stardom] There is something very scary about thinking everyone in the world will know who I am.
[on having doubts over accepting the role of Anastasia] Yes. Of course. Absolutely. The whole time. Even now there are moments when I think, what the fuck have I done? But most of the time I feel pretty solid about it.
I absolutely have shame and I do have guilt. I am a human. It's true that I'm not ashamed of my body. I'm comfortable and I think more women should be more confident. I think nudity and sexual scenes are beautiful when they're tastefully done.
When mom and dad were at the height of their careers and things were super-crazy and they couldn't leave their houses, there wasn't social media. It was all about autographs. Now everyone's the press. I feel fame is perforated; it can be glorious but it can completely destroy a human too.
[on Anastasia Steele criticism] This woman is incredibly smart. It's almost as if she's all-knowing and therefore she hasn't given herself up emotionally or physically before. She's waited for this person who she can spar with mentally and who can completely ignite something in her.
I grew up around really not normal people. My family is general Hollywood. They're all artists; they're creative people who are advocates for expressing themselves. But I also have to say I'm not impressed with Hollywood.
[Fifty Shades] was like watching someone who looked a lot like me doing really bizarre things. I was completely detached.
I feel like I grew up in the circus. I know planes, trains and automobiles. And really talented, weird people.
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) $250.000 plus bonuses tied to box office results
(Gifs and photos: source_Tumblr)
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