Dakota Johnson, famous for her role as Anastasia Steele in the *Fifty Shades* series, manages both her successful Hollywood career and a full family life with ease. At 34, Dakota has not only made a name for herself in film but is also learning about love and blended families.
This article explores Dakota’s rumored engagement to Chris Martin, her smooth transition into being part of a blended family, her friendship with Chris’s ex, Gwyneth Paltrow, and her thoughts on family life and motherhood. Dakota’s family history in the entertainment world adds even more to her unique perspective on life, love, and family.
Dakota Johnson, an actress, producer, and director, has been in Hollywood since childhood, starting her acting career at ten. She’s appeared in over 30 films, most notably as Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades of Grey series, a role she reprised in two sequels.
Dakota comes from a family of Hollywood stars. Her mother, Melanie Griffith, has over 80 acting credits in projects like Days Out of Days and Stuart Little 2, while her father, Don Johnson, has acted in over 100 projects, including Knives Out. After her parents’ divorce, both remarried. Her mother was married to actor Antonio Banderas from 1996 to 2015, and he shared a close bond with Dakota, often describing her as his family and expressing his love for her.
Dakota is the only child of her parents together but grew up in a large blended family. She has spoken about her family, saying, “I grew up in a family that was so big, and I just believe in the saying ‘Blood is thicker than water.’” Dakota values the relationships people choose as much as those they’re born into, saying that in her family, her siblings, blood-related or not, are all close and connected.
Her blended family experience has influenced how she views relationships. She believes that family bonds endure through trials, with most of her relatives being creative people. She reflected, “Even the kids, they’re extraordinarily talented people. So you just are dealing with complex people. You grow and you embrace.” Dakota cherishes her family, finding joy in its honesty and openness.
Dakota is in a relationship with Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay. Rumors of their engagement have circulated, especially after Dakota was spotted wearing a ring in 2020, and again in 2021. In 2023, designer Jessica McCormack posted a photo of Dakota wearing what looked like an engagement ring. Sources say the couple got engaged a while ago but kept the news private, focusing on their bond over wedding plans.
Dakota has embraced her role as a stepmom to Chris’s children, Apple and Moses, from his past marriage to Gwyneth Paltrow. She has a good relationship with Gwyneth, who has openly praised Dakota, calling her “an adorable, wonderful person” and sharing that they are close friends. The two have even posted photos together, showing their bond.
Dakota and Chris’s relationship has brought her closer to his children. She once described her connection to them, saying, “I love those kids like my life depends on it.” She often spends time with Apple and Moses and has been spotted on family outings, like grabbing coffee or going on family vacations.
Despite the family’s nontraditional structure, Dakota feels at ease with it. Growing up in a blended family herself, she feels it’s natural. Her experiences have made her open to one day having children of her own, saying, “I’m so open to that. I really want to experience everything that life has to offer.” She sees motherhood as a “crazy, wild, and magical” experience and is ready if it happens.
Dakota’s family background has influenced how she approaches her current relationships. Her connection with Chris and his children has brought her happiness, shaping her ideas about love, family, and the future.
What happened to Ann Curry after a 25-year career at NBC News?
What happened to Ann Curry?
The veteran journalist, who celebrates her 67th birthday on November 19, has remained relatively quiet since she was forced out of her job at Today in 2012 and later, NBC News in 2015.
Despite her name no longer appearing in the headlines, Curry continues to work in the field of journalism.
Curry, the eldest of five, was born in Guam to Hiroe Nagase and Robert Paul “Bob” Curry. As a child she spent several years living in Japan before her family moved to Oregon where she attended high school and would later attend and graduate from college.
She began her broadcasting career in 1978 as an intern at KTVL, then an NBC affiliate in Oregon. After succeeding as an intern she was promoted to become the station’s first female news reporter.
Two years into her career she moved to KGW in Portland where she worked as both an anchor and reporter. She later moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a reporter for a CBS affiliate for six years.
During that time she won two Emmy Awards for her work.
Career at NBC News
In 1990, Curry began her career at NBC News.
She began as an NBC News Chicago correspondent before securing a job as an anchor on the now defunct show, NBC News at Sunrise. During her five-year stint as an anchor on the morning show, she also filled in for Today‘s Matt Lauer.
In 1997 she was promoted to news anchor on Today and held the position from 1997 to 2011.
In addition to reading the news on Today, Curry was named co-anchor of Dateline NBC in 2005, and she was the main substitute on NBC Nightly News from 2005 to 2011.
Regardless of her accolades or coverage of hard news stories, in June 2012, Curry found herself out of a job.
Her departure was emotional and public, and it was never very clear the reason behind her leaving Today.
While she no longer sat next to Matt Lauer, she remained with NBC News, but only until January 2015.
Life after NBC News
Following her 25-year career with NBC News, Curry slowed down, but made no less of an impact with her reporting.
She founded a multi-platform media company, reported and produced the PBS series We’ll Meet Again, gave a TED Talk about restoring trust in journalism, and hosted TNT’s Chasing the Cure.
In 2022, Curry received the Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award from Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. The university recognized her work “on human suffering in war zones and natural disasters through her work as an American journalist, photojournalist, and reporter.”
Most recently, Curry sat down with Min Jin Lee, author of “Pachinko,” for PBS Arts Talk.
And while Curry has kept posting to a bare minimum on social media, after a year and a half absence, she returned to share a wintry photo.
“Good morning world. Keep safe and cozy. ‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep…’” she wrote before disappearing again.
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