Dakota Johnson Reveals Starving Artist Experience & How Her Parents Helped Her

Dakota Johnson is the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. She grew up exposed to the entertainment industry, and after finishing high school in Los Angeles, she decided to follow in her parents’ footsteps and become an actress. But dreaming of becoming a star and making it are two different things.

In a recent interview with Pedro Pascal for Elle, the “Madame Web” actress reflected on some of her struggles to make it big and how she was fortunate to have her parents support her when she couldn’t pay her bills.

Dakota Johnson Had No Money in Her Bank Account

“For a couple of years, it was hard to make money,” Johnson told Pascal in their interview with Elle published on May 15. “There were a few times when I’d go to the market and not have money in my bank account or not be able to pay rent, and I’d have to ask my parents for help – I’m very grateful that I had parents that could help me and did help me. But it certainly was not fun.” She commented that the auditioning process to land gigs was the “worst.”

Johnson recognises the unique position she finds herself in, and many creatives do not have anyone to help them out. In the same interview, she discusses her challenges with school and how she didn’t want to go to college. She auditioned for Juilliard but was not called back for a second interview, and she referred to this process as “so awful and terrifying.”

She continued, “When you get accepted for an audition, it’s a two-day long chorus-line thing. You’re supposed to get called back for a second audition, and I didn’t. It was fine, I really didn’t want to go to college. And because Juilliard felt so small – the idea of being in a classroom with the same group of people, and figuring out how to be a human in that environment, after growing up surrounded by so many different kinds of people and immersed in different cultures through travelling all over… It just felt really wrong to lock myself in one place.”

Dakota Johnson’s Dad Really Wanted Her To Go to College

Pascal tried to compliment her, noting that the prestigious school “probably realised that the programme wasn’t something for you,” but Johnson was blunt: She simply didn’t “stand a chance.” However, her decision not to apply to other schools did have an impact.

“I didn’t get in and my dad cut me off because I didn’t go to college,” she told Elle. “So, I started auditioning. I think I was 19 when I did ‘The Social Network,’ and then little jobs and stuff after that…” She is referring to the 2010 film, in which she landed her breakout role as Amelia Ritter. In the 15 years since this film, Johnson’s career has gone from strength to strength!

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