Dakota Johnson Opens Up About Wanting a Family After Two Decades of Career Commitments
By Website Content Manager
The “Verity” actress told Vogue she feels ready to embrace motherhood as she considers taking a step back from her busy career.
In a recent interview with Vogue, the 36-year-old actress reflected on her career, her personal life and the possibility of becoming a mother. Johnson said having a family is something she genuinely hopes to experience.
“I really do. I do, but for whatever reason, that’s the plan of the universe,” she told the magazine. “So I would love that. I hope that that happens for me. I’ve always felt, especially the last few years, that there is a soul that wants to come through. And I hope that I’m lucky enough to be able to do that.”
Johnson acknowledged that watching friends and fellow actors raise children can sometimes be difficult because her own life has not unfolded according to the timeline she once envisioned. Still, she said she remains optimistic about the possibility of becoming a mother.
The actress established herself in Hollywood during the 2010s with appearances in movies including The Social Network and 21 Jump Street. Her career reached another level when she was cast as Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey, a role that became her major breakthrough.
Since then, Johnson has taken on a wide variety of projects, including The Peanut Butter Falcon, Madame Web and The Materialists. However, after years of maintaining an especially demanding work schedule, she appears ready to make more room for her personal life.
“I’ve worked back-to-back for so long that now I have this deep calling to shift my perspective a bit and maybe have a bit more of a real life,” Johnson explained. “I’ve been gone for, like, 20 years. The people in my life are so used to me leaving for months at a time.”
At this stage of her life, Johnson said she wants to focus on being genuine and allowing herself to experience life more fully. She described her goal as continuing to grow while embracing her life with greater intention.
One of Johnson’s upcoming projects is Verity, a psychological thriller adapted from Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel. The movie also features Josh Hartnett and Anne Hathaway.
In the film, Johnson portrays Lowen Ashleigh, a ghostwriter brought in to complete a popular book series after its author, Verity Crawford, is injured. As Lowen becomes more involved with the project, however, she begins discovering unsettling details that suggest the situation is far more complicated than it initially appeared.
Johnson said director Michael Showalter encouraged her to approach the character with an intentionally exaggerated style, which was different from her usual artistic approach. She nevertheless found the experience entertaining, particularly because the cast and filmmakers drew inspiration from classic erotic thrillers.
Hollywood is hardly unfamiliar territory for Johnson. Acting runs through her family: her mother is Oscar-nominated actress Melanie Griffith, her father is Miami Vice star Don Johnson, and her maternal grandmother is acclaimed actress Tippi Hedren.