Quote from Oladosun Joshua Segun on May 18, 2025, 12:48 AM

Dakota Johnson shared that after high school, she faced financial struggles when her father, Don Johnson, cut her off for not attending college. She had applied to Juilliard but wasn’t accepted, and since she chose not to pursue higher education, her father stopped supporting her financially.

Determined to make it on her own, Dakota started auditioning and landed small roles, including her appearance in The Social Network at age 19. She recalled moments when she couldn’t afford groceries or rent and had to ask her parents for help, despite wanting to be independent.

Her father had a strict rule that children would remain on the family payroll only if they stayed in school. Dakota, however, was confident in her decision to pursue acting, telling her father, “Don’t you worry about it” when he asked how she would manage financially.

It’s an inspiring story of resilience—she went from struggling to pay rent to becoming a successful actress in Hollywood.

"I didn't get in and my dad cut me off because I didn't go to college," the 35-year-old told her Materialists costar Pedro Pascal for an Elle U.K. interview, published May 14. "So, I started auditioning. I think I was 19 when I did The Social Network, and then little jobs and stuff after that."

Dakota who made her onscreen acting debut as a child alongside her mom in the actress' then-husband Antonio Banderas' 1999 film Crazy in Alabama before appearing in a scene with Justin Timberlake in 2010's The Social Network, and years later, the Fifty Shades trilogy remembers struggling financially after being cut off by her dad.

"For a couple of years, it was hard to make money," she told Pedro. "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," Dakota added, "but it was definitely not fun. The auditioning process is the f--king worst."

Dakota has previously talked about how her dad cut her off financially after high school and how she battled to succeed in Hollywood on her own.

"He said, 'If you go to college, you still get an allowance,'" the actress said about her dad in a February 2024 Today interview. "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 claimed that in order to pay her rent while pursuing acting, she resorted to modeling. "I definitely had periods where I needed to seek my mom for help because I could not afford groceries and stuff like that," she said. "The nice one was her."

Don previously provided his own perspective on the college ultimatum. The Nash Bridges alumnus stated on Late Night With Seth Meyers in 2021, "We have a rule in the family that if you stay in school, you get stay on the payroll."

He added that toward the end of Dakota's high school tenure, he asked his daughter if she wanted to explore several colleges. "And she went, 'Oh, no, I'm not going to college,'" he added. "And I said, 'All right. You understand what that entails. How are you going to handle the fact that you will not be receiving payroll anymore? "Do not you worry about it," she adds.

She has since built a successful career, proving her determination to make it on her own. Quite the journey, right?