Biography
Dakota Johnson seems to have inherited her family's thespian skills. Born Oct. 4, 1989 in Austin, TX, Dakota Mayi Johnson hailed from showbiz royalty; her parents were Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, her grandmother was Tippi Hedren and, in 1996, Antonio Banderas became her stepfather. She made her film debut in Griffith and Banderas' "Crazy in Alabama" (1999) and, in 2006, was named Miss Golden Globe. After enjoying success as a model, Johnson landed a small role as a lover of Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) in the Oscar-winning drama "The Social Network" (2010), which also earned her and her castmates a slew of "Best Ensemble" honors from various film festivals. The actress went on to book supporting roles in such high-profile projects as "Beastly" (2011), "21 Jump Street" (2012) and "The Five-Year Engagement" (2012), but Johnson's breakthrough role came on the sitcom "Ben and Kate" (Fox, 2012-13), where she was given the opportunity to play lead as Kate, a single mother who finds both inspiration and exasperation from her free-spirited brother Ben (Nat Faxon). Although critics were impressed with her screen presence and comic timing, the series suffered from poor ratings and was canceled after a single season. Following more supporting roles in the action thriller "Need For Speed" (2014) and Michael Almereyda's indie drama "Cymbeline" (2014), Johnson became one of Hollywood's most high-profile young actresses when she was cast as the innocent Anastasia Steele in the film adaptation of E.L. James' S/M-themed romantic best-seller "Fifty Shades of Grey" (2015). Though the film received tepid reviews, it was a major box office success and she gamely continued the story in the sequels "Fifty Shades Darker" (2017) and "Fifty Shades Freed" (2018). Outside of that series, Johnson's next major screen role came in Scott Cooper's gritty drama "Black Mass" (2015), in which she starred opposite Johnny Depp, who portrayed real-life Boston mobster turned FBI informant James "Whitey" Bulger. She next appeared in a supporting role in Luca Guadagnino's drama "A Bigger Splash" (2015) before starring in the romantic comedy "How To Be Single" (2016). She returned to the big screen in a key role in Drew Goddard's quirky thriller "Bad Times at the El Royale" and reteamed with Guadignino in the starring role of his remake of the '70s Italian horror classic "Suspiria" (2018). Johnson next appeared in psychological horror "Wounds" (2019) and family adventure "The Peanut Butter Falcon" (2019).
