Dakota Johnson Describes ‘Scary’ and ‘Painful’ Childhood Growing Up with Famous Parents
Oct. 21, 2025 — Los Angeles — Dakota Johnson, daughter of actors Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, and stepdaughter of Antonio Banderas, opened up about the “scary” and “painful” sides of her childhood in Hollywood in a Vogue Germany cover interview published Tuesday.
Johnson detailed aggressive paparazzi pursuits during routine outings and the emotional toll of normalizing fame as a child. The reflections, covered by outlets including People, E! News and Fox News, highlighted how her parents shielded her from pursuing acting until after high school.
Frightening Paparazzi Encounters
“When I was little, there were times when it was really quite scary, and people would aggressively and physically try to get to my mom when we were just going to the supermarket or something.”
Johnson told Vogue Germany, as quoted in People and USA Today. She added that accepting such intrusions as normal could “lead to a lot of complexes.”
Public scrutiny further invaded family privacy:
“And then, of course, the fact that you’re in the public eye and the world knows about your private life in a way that’s very invasive, rude, and painful.”
Parents’ Rules on Acting Career
Despite frequent set visits and an early role alongside Griffith and half-sister Stella Banderas in 1999’s Crazy in Alabama, directed by Banderas, Johnson said her parents prohibited professional work until graduation.
“I was never allowed to act in movies as a kid… I wasn’t allowed to work properly until I graduated from high school.”
Her grandmother, actress Tippi Hedren, echoed this protective approach: “I didn’t push Melanie into films, and she didn’t push Dakota.”
Johnson grew up traveling with a tutor until age 10, living partly in Spain during her mother’s marriage to Banderas, and attended New Roads School in Santa Monica for high school, per USA Today.
Earlier Financial Struggles
In a May 2025 Elle U.K. interview, Johnson recalled Don Johnson cutting off financial support at 19 after she skipped college.
“I didn’t get in and my dad cut me off because I didn’t go to college… For a couple of years it was hard to make money.”
She sometimes lacked funds for groceries or rent but was grateful for parental assistance when needed.
Recent Family Appearance
Johnson and Griffith made a rare red carpet outing together in August 2025 at the Splitsville premiere, as reported by Today.
Johnson, born in Austin, Texas, while her father filmed there, has half-siblings from both parents’ other marriages and credits her family’s acting legacy as “in our blood,” according to Wikipedia.
