Dakota Johnson talks girl power with XPOSÉ Magazine.
Some people are destined to be famous and Dakota Johnson is one of them. The actress is the granddaughter of former child actor Peter Griffith and Golden Globe winning actress Tippi Hedren. She is also the daughter of Hollywood icon Melanie Griffith and actor Don Johnson. Add to that the fact that she was brought up with Antonio Banderas as her stepfather and it’s very clear to see that this third-generation Hollywood actress was born to be in the limelight, and in front of a camera. Dakota started her career at a young age and made her onscreen debut at ten years old in Crazy in Alabama alongside her half sister Stella Banderas. Her stepfather Antonio Banderas directed the film and the two young girls played the daughters of their real-life mother, Melanie Griffith. All things considered, Dakota was a shoe-in for a successful Hollywood career.
The actress has been steadily bagging roles since the age of ten but it was being cast in the hotly anticipated Fifty Shades of Grey as Anastasia Steele that catapulted her to stardom. As expected, the film was controversial and debuted to criticism from gender equality groups. Dakota came under fire for her portrayal of the film's protagonist but she has been adamant that she’s proud of her performance. In an interview with Glamour she stated, "I'm proud of [the movie]. I completely disagree with people who think Ana's weak. I think she's actually stronger than he is. Everything she does is her choice. And if I can be an advocate for women to do what they want to do with their bodies and not be ashamed of what they want, then I'm all for that."
Dakota’s latest film, How to Be Single couldn’t be more different from Fifty Shades of Grey if it tried. Written by Dana Fox and starring Rebel Wilson and Leslie Mann, How to Be Single is about as girl power as it gets without breaking into a mid-nineties Spice Girls song. We were keen to find out how Dakota found working with someone as hilarious as Rebel. She told XPOSÉ, “[Rebel’s] amazing, she has an incredible work ethic.” No surprise there! We’re adding work with Rebel Wilson on a film to our bucket lists. Rebel, if you’re reading this team XPOSÉ makes a mean cup of tea.
Dakota was keen to stress that as funny as How to Be Single seems on the surface it carries an important message. She told XPOSÉ, “I hope that specifically young women feel that it’s good and I hope that they feel encouraged to be single and happy and to feel good being on their own and not feeling like they need to attach themselves to anyone in order to be happy.” It’s a mixed message considering she is the star of one of the most controversial films of the century. With Fifty Shades Darker released early next year we can’t help but wonder if this latest film is more about damage control than girl power for Dakota. Either way, we can’t wait to see how she approaches the next two films in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. Will the sequels be diluted due to the mixed reception that the first movie received or will the directors play on the controversy to create even more conversation? We’re hoping for the latter, you know how we love the drama. Above all we’re interested to see how the actress handles it all. Will the new and improved Dakota stick by her message of girl power or will she crumble, much like her Fifty Shades of Grey character? All eyes are on you Miss Johnson...
The full article appears in the April issue of XPOSÉ, on sale now.
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