Recently, Dakota Johnson attended the wedding of her stepsister Stella del Carmen, the daughter of Antonio Banderas, and just a few days later made a series of candid statements to the press. In her latest interview, the actress shed light on her childhood, which, contrary to expectations, was far from carefree. Growing up in the shadow of her famous parents, Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, she faced the flipside of fame from an early age—sometimes in frightening forms.
Johnson, whose life has been intertwined with the film world since infancy—her grandmother is the legendary Tippi Hedren, and her stepfather was Antonio Banderas—grew up on movie sets. But this seemingly fairy-tale existence also had a dark side. The actress recalls being pursued by paparazzi as a child. She cited an example from a trip across Europe in 1996, when she was just seven. A routine visit to the supermarket with her mother turned into a nightmare: a crowd aggressively tried to break through to Melanie Griffith, creating a dangerous and violent situation. At the time, young Dakota took such incidents as something ordinary, only realizing as an adult just how traumatic and invasive these intrusions into their private lives had been.
According to the actress, society is overly intrusive and brazenly interested in the private lives of celebrities. At the same time, she does not deny the clear advantages of her background. It was thanks to her mother that she landed her first role at the age of nine. She made her debut in the film “Crazy in Alabama,” directed by Antonio Banderas. However, she was only able to fully dedicate herself to acting after finishing school.
Dakota still maintains a warm and close relationship with the Spanish actor. She also speaks with great gratitude about her mother. Melanie Griffith taught her to love and accept her body, which gave her the confidence for bold and dazzling appearances on the red carpet. Johnson emphasizes that her mother’s love and support became an invaluable gift, strengthening her self-esteem and helping her become a strong person able to overcome any difficulties.
