About Dakota Johnson

Dakota Johnson is the daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith. Her breakout role was playing Anastasia Steele in the film adaptation of 'Fifty Shades of Grey.'

Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith

Born on October 4, 1989 in Austin, Texas, Dakota Johnson is the daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith. Her big screen debut was alongside her mom in Crazy in Alabama (1999). Post high school, Johnson appeared in a string of films including The Social Network (2010) and 21 Jump Street (2012) before landing her most pivotal role yet: playing Anastasia Steele in the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey (2015).

Dakota Mayi Johnson was born on October 4, 1989 in Austin, Texas. Growing up, Johnson was surrounded by celebrity. Her parents, Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, were one of Hollywood's most recognizable stars of the '80s, and her maternal grandmother is actress Tippi Hedren. Johnson was also Antonio Banderas' stepdaughter from her mother's longtime marriage to the Spanish actor (the couple divorced in 2015).

Johnson grew up in Colorado but later attended schools in Monterey and Santa Monica, California. An avid dancer as a child, Johnson eventually pursued modeling before transitioning into acting.

In 1999 Johnson made her film debut at the age of nine, playing daughter to her real-life mother Melanie Griffith in Crazy in Alabama. In 2006 she was chosen to be Miss Golden Globe. After high school, Johnson appeared in a variety of films: The Social Network (2010), Beastly (2011), The Five-Year Engagement (2012), and 21 Jump Street (2012), among others.

Johnson had a brief stint in television, playing the lead role in Fox's comedy Ben and Kate in 2012, but the show was canceled after one season. In 2013 she appeared as a new hire on the finale episode of The Office.

Johnson returned to the big screen in a big way when she landed a role of a lifetime, playing Anastasia 'Ana' Steele in 2015's Fifty Shades of Grey. The upcoming Fifty films, in which she continues to play Ana, are slated for 2017 and 2018.

Riding on Fifty Shades of Grey's success, Johnson has kept busy with other projects. In 2015 she starred in the thriller A Bigger Splash, opposite Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes, and appeared opposite Johnny Depp in the Whitey Bulger mobster biopic Black Mass. Despite establishing herself mostly as a dramatic actress, Johnson took a turn with some lighter fare in 2016 with the comedy How to Be Single.

As for upcoming projects, Johnson took an opportunity to use her background in dance, signing on to play an American ballet dancer in a remake of the 1977 Italian horror film Suspira. She'll also be teaming up again with The Social Network's producer Michael De Luca and costar Andrew Garfield for Under the Silver Lake, a crime thriller.