The 'Fifty Shades of Grey' actress remembers when her father told her she had to earn her own money when she refused to go to college and would rather enter Hollywood.
- Feb 11, 2024
AceShowbiz - Dakota Johnson was financially "cut off" by her family after she decided to pursue an acting career. The 34-year-old star is the daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith - but they wanted Dakota to go to college rather than following in their footsteps.
"He cut me off. He said if you go to college, you still get an allowance. And I was like, 'Well, I'm going to be an actress.' So he was like, 'Alright, well you're on your own.' I was cut off," Dakota shared when speaking about her dad on the "Today" show.
The brunette beauty ultimately turned to modelling in order to pay her rent while she pursued her acting ambitions. Dakota said, "I definitely like had moments where I couldn't afford groceries and things like that and needed to ask my mom to help me. She was the nice
one." In 2021, Don discussed his daughter's decision to shun college during an interview on "Late Night With Seth Meyers". The 74-year-old actor insisted that he was simply following family rules by refusing to give money to Dakota.
Don - who was married to Melanie between 1989 and 1996 - shared, "We have a rule in the family that if you stay in school, you get to stay on the payroll. And towards the end of high school, I went to her and I said, 'Um, so, do you want to go visit some colleges or something like that?' "
"And she went, 'Oh, no, I'm not going to college.' And I went, 'OK. Well, you know what that means. I mean, you won't be on the payroll anymore, and how are you gonna manage?' And she says, 'Don't you worry about it.' "
