In a candid conversation with co-star Pedro Pascal, the Materialists actress reflects on being cut off by dad Don Johnson after skipping college — and the tough years that followed before finding fame.
Dakota Johnson may come from Hollywood royalty, but her journey to stardom was anything but smooth.
In a revealing conversation with Materialists co-star Pedro Pascal for Elle U.K., the 35-year-old actress looked back on the early days of her career — and the financial hardships she faced after her father, actor Don Johnson, stopped supporting her financially when she decided against going to college.
“I graduated and only applied to Juilliard. And I didn’t get in,” Johnson said of her initial plan to pursue acting through academia. “That f—ing process was so awful and terrifying… You’re supposed to get called back for a second audition, and I didn’t.”
Despite the disappointment, Johnson admitted she wasn’t crushed: “I really didn’t want to go to college anyway. It just felt really wrong to lock myself in one place.”
However, there was one major consequence. “I didn’t get in and my dad cut me off because I didn’t go to college,” she recalled. “So, I started auditioning. I think I was 19 when I did The Social Network, and then little jobs and stuff after that.”
Her father had long maintained a family rule — stay in school to stay on the payroll. He reinforced it during a 2021 Late Night with Seth Meyers appearance, where he explained, “Towards the end of high school, I went to her and I said, ‘So, do you want to go visit some colleges?’ And she was like, ‘Oh, no. I’m not going to college.’ So I said, ‘Okay… you won’t be on the payroll anymore.’”
Despite her confidence in moving forward on her own, the road was rough. “For a couple of years it was hard to make money,” Johnson admitted. “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. 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,” she said. “But it certainly was not fun. The auditioning process, as you know, is the f—ing worst.”
Still, her resilience paid off. After her small role in David Fincher’s The Social Network (2010), she landed parts in Beastly, 21 Jump Street, and The Five-Year Engagement before securing her breakout role in Fifty Shades of Grey in 2015.
Her father, Don, couldn’t be prouder in retrospect. “[She] nailed down that part in The Social Network, and the rest is, shall we say, cinema history,” he told Meyers.
Now, Dakota Johnson is firmly on her own path. She recently attended the 2025 Cannes Film Festival for the world premiere of Materialists, directed by Oscar nominee Celine Song (Past Lives). In the film, she stars alongside Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans — with a wide release set for June 13.
Though her career continues to flourish, Johnson’s candid reflections prove that even Hollywood’s most recognizable faces often face real-life challenges on the road to success.
