Today, Dakota Johnson is one of the most popular superstars in Hollywood. Despite having a father who was an actor, Johnson got no support and initially had to struggle to make ends meet. The actress once explained that her father, actor Don Johnson, stopped giving her allowance when she told him she wanted to become an actor.
In the past, Don Johnson has revealed that they had a rule in the family: You get allowance only if you got to college. Since Dakota Johnson had no college plans and dropped everything for acting, she was no longer eligible for an allowance.
With some modeling jobs, Johnson was able to pay her rent but on some days, the actress had no money for groceries and had to ask her mother, Melanie Griffith, for money. Eventually, she bagged bigger opportunities and successfully managed to establish herself as a talented actress.
Dakota Johnson’s father cut her off financially when she planned to pursue acting
During her recent appearance on Today Show, actress Dakota Johnson revealed that her father, Don Johnson, stopped supporting her financially after she told him that she was not going to college in order to become an actress.
“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 – 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.”
The actress explained that she was able to pay rent with small modeling jobs but sometimes struggled to buy groceries, so she had to approach her mother, Melanie Griffith, for money. Johnson was no stranger to Hollywood life as her parents were very popular celebrities in their prime.
Don Johnson had a strict rule about allowance
In 2021, Don Johnson appeared on Late Night With Seth Meyers and explained why he stopped giving his daughter money,
“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.'”
It’s not like he didn’t want to support his daughter, they just had a family rule and he made sure that Dakota Johnson also followed it. Luckily for her, Johnson’s acting career took off and now, it’s safe to say she no longer struggles with grocery expenses.
