Skip to main contentSkip to footer
Dakota Johnson© Axelle/Bauer-Griffin

Dakota Johnson - Biography

The American actress made her name in the Fifty Shades films

Nicky Morris
TV and film writer
Updated: November 16, 2023
Share this:

Dakota Johnson's early life

Dakota Johnson was born on 4 October, 1989 to Golden Globe-winning actor Don Johnson and Academy Award-nominated actress Melanie Griffith. She grew up in Colorado, where she attended Aspen Community School. 

Dakota Johnson's acting career

Dakota made her film debut at the tender age of 9 in 1999, when she and her half-sister, Stella Banderas, played daughters to their real-life mother in Crazy in Alabama. The film was directed by her stepfather, Antonio Banderas.

After leaving school, the young star signed to IMG models and appeared in campaigns for MANGO jeans line and featured in the "Rising Star" campaign for the Australian fashion label Wish. Dakota also began auditioning for acting roles and went on to land minor parts in The Social Network, 21 Jump Street, and Beastly.

Her breakthrough role was portraying Anastasia Steele in the film adaption of Fifty Shades of Grey, in which she starred opposite Jamie Dornan. From there, she went on to star in a wide range of Hollywood films, including How to Be Single, The Peanut Butter Falcon, and The Lost Daughter.

Dakota Johnson's personal life

Dakota was previously in long-term relationships with actor Jordan Masterson and Matthew Hitt, the lead singer of the rock band Drowners, before she began dating Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin in 2017.

More Profiles

See more