Don Johnson’s 5 Kids: All About Jesse, Dakota, Atherton, Jasper and Deacon

Don Johnson couldn’t be more proud of his five children.

The longtime actor became a dad for the first time while dating actress Patti D’Arbanville. The couple welcomed their son, Jesse Wayne, in 1982 — and Johnson later told PEOPLE that he credited the newborn with saving his life.

In 1989, Johnson became a dad for the second time when he had his first daughter with Melanie Griffith. Johnson and Griffith were married and divorced more than a decade ago, but reconciled in 1989. Just months after the couple remarried, the actress gave birth to Dakota Maya.

While Johnson eventually split with Griffith, he found love again with his wife, Kelley Phleger. After the couple got married in 1999, they had three children – Atherton Grace, Jasper Breckenridge and Deacon James. Johnson admitted he was more relaxed with his younger children, but was just as excited about growing the family.

“I love kids, so it’s more good times, more joy and more fun. This time it’s no less exciting than it was the first time,” Johnson shared with ALRIGHT! Magazine after the birth of the youngest son in 2006.

Here’s everything there is to know about Don Johnson’s five children: Jesse, Dakota, Atherton, Jasper and Deacon.

Jesse Wayne Johnson, 40

Don Johnson and Jesse Johnson at the premiere of ‘The Hateful Eight’. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Johnson became a dad for the first time with his then-partner Patti D’Arbanville when they welcomed their only child together, Jesse Wayne Johnson, on December 7, 1982 in Los Angeles.

In the 70s, Johnson dealt with drug and alcohol addiction. The actor’s welcome to the boy is responsible for changing his life for the better.

“I walked into the breakfast room one morning and the sun was shining and the birds were singing and Patti was feeding the baby,” he told PEOPLE in 1984. “I staggered in and sat down and looked at them and she looked at me and I knew that he would leave if I didn’t do something. So I said, ‘Patti, I’m a drunk and a drug addict, and I’m going to do something about it.’ ”

Johnson later went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and became sober 45 days later.

In a 2009 interview with Top Cat Films, Jesse shared that he grew up in Aspen, Colorado, where he discovered his love for the outdoors and sports such as snowboarding and ice hockey. Although he didn’t hit Hollywood until he was an adult, he occasionally joined his family on the red carpet.

Jesse was the first of Johnson’s children to follow in his footsteps in the entertainment industry. He studied theater at Occidental College in LA, graduating in 2004 before pursuing an acting career. He made his debut when he was just a teenager, playing a small role in his father’s hit TV series Nash Bridges. Since then, he has appeared in several other projects, including Hawaii Five-0, Twin Peaks, Grey’s Anatomy and NCIS.

Jesse is also a musician — in 2020 he released a memoir of himself playing guitar in 1998. In October 2020, his band Blame Baby released their debut EP titled Honest answers to your most private questions. A year later, Jesse teamed up with two friends to release Trésjeté, a collection of poems.

Dakota Maya Johnson, 34

Don Johnson and Dakota Johnson attend The Hollywood Foreign Press Association and The Hollywood Reporter Party at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Johnson and then-wife Griffith welcomed their daughter, Dakota Mayi, on October 4, 1989, in Austin, Texas. According to UPI, Johnson was in the Lone Star State working on his film Hot Spot, and when filming ended, the family returned to LA — although they weren’t there for long.

in 2017, Dakota said Vogue that she didn’t have much stability in her early life as she often spent months traveling around the world with her actor parents. With no “anchor” anywhere, she was “consistently unanchored and discombobuled.” She was already in therapy at the age of 3.

“I feel like I grew up in the circus. I know planes and trains and cars. And really talented, weird people,” Dakota told Another magazine in 2015 about his childhood.

When she wasn’t on the road, she split her time between Griffith’s home in LA and Johnson’s ranch in Colorado — and occasionally spent time at her grandmother Tippi Hedren’s big cat sanctuary in the California desert. She finally stayed in one place for several consecutive years after enrolling in a private school in Santa Monica, California.

At the age of 12, Dakota became interested in modeling when she participated in A Teen Vogue taking pictures with other celebrity children, she recalled Aspen Peak magazine in 2008. She eventually applied to the IMG modeling agency and began modeling while still in high school.

In 2006, she followed in her mother’s footsteps as Miss Golden Globe — the first child of the second generation to hold the title.

Dakota made her film debut with Mother of the Year Crazy in Alabama In 1999, while her parents dissuaded her from pursuing acting seriously, Dakota pressed on and applied to Juilliard to study art, she told Late Night with Seth Meyers. She was not accepted into the program, and as a result Johnson cut her off financially, since his stipulation of being on his “payroll” was that she attend school.

Dakota then moved to West Hollywood, California and began going to auditions. It didn’t take long for her to land her first major role as Sean Parker’s one-night stand Social network.

From there, Dakota’s career took off and she appeared in films like 21 Jump Street and Five-year engagement; she also landed a lead role in a short-lived TV series Ben and Kate. Dakota’s breakthrough moment happened in 2013 when she got the role of Anastasia Steele in Fifty shades of grey.

Ever since she rose to stardom in the romantic drama, Dakota has had a busy schedule appearing in films like Peanut Butter Falcon, Bad times at the El Royale and Suspiria. In fact, Johnson once said that he and Dakota hadn’t seen each other in a while because she was just too busy.

“She’s not really calling me for advice. She’s calling me to say, ‘God, I’d like to see you, but I have three pictures I’m shooting at the same time,'” he told Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2021

Although Johnson may not have as much time with the Dakotas as before, in 2016 he said Hey! News that he’s “super proud” of everything she’s accomplished — both on and off screen. In 2021, Johnson was interviewed by Good morning New York that he gave his stamp to Dakota’s longtime boyfriend, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, whom she started dating in 2017.

Atherton Grace Johnson, 23

Don Johnson and Grace Johnson at the “Watchmen” premiere. Frazer Harrison/Getty

Johnson and wife Kelley Phleger welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Atherton Grace, or just “Grace,” on December 28, 1999.

Grace spent most of her childhood out of the limelight, having grown up in Santa Barbara, California, per Santa Barbara Magazine. As a child, she was rarely seen with her famous family. Grace went on to study photography at the University of Southern California, a passion inspired by her grandmother, she told Glamor Spain.

Grace also showed off her skills in front of the camera, signing with IMG and making her runway debut in Christian Cowan x The Powerpuff Girls show in 2019. She also attended the Met Gala that year with her sister, Dakota, whom she calls her “best friend.”

“My relationship with Dakota is a mixture because she is not only my sister, she is my best friend. For a long time, regardless of the age difference, she always treated me as an equal,” said Grace Glamor Spain.

Since her debut on the runway, Grace has made great strides in her career, after appearing on the cover Bella magazine and walked the runway in Gucci’s Love Parade show in 2021. Grace was also featured in Goop’s collaboration campaign with Banana Republic and even appeared in her brother Jesse’s music video for “Headcase.”

Jasper Breckenridge Johnson, 21

Noel Vasquez/GC Images

Johnson and Phleger’s second child, Jasper Breckenridge, was born on June 6, 2002. Growing up in Santa Barbara, Jasper remained reclusive, devoting much of his time to sports. In high school, he played basketball on the varsity team starting his freshman year.

He told college sports recruiting organization NCSA that his parents never missed a game. His brother Jesse must have caught a few, too: He caught Jasper shooting the game-winning basket during a January 2020 game.

Jasper graduated from high school in 2021. Before graduation, he wrote that he hoped to major in business at a four-year college.

Deacon James Johnson, 17

Kelley Johnson’s Instagram

Johnson and Phleger welcomed their youngest child, Deacon James, on April 29, 2006 — the same day the couple celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary. After Deacon’s birth, Johnson’s rep said he was “over the moon times six.”

Like his older siblings, Deacon grew up in Santa Barbara, graduating high school in 2020, according to Phleger’s Instagram. His parents also shared posts of their son playing the piano and guitar.

The youngest Johnson also followed in his older brother’s footsteps with a love of sports — he often attended football and baseball games with his dad.

In 2023, when Deacon was entering his senior year of high school, Phleger posted a sweet picture of himself holding a sign that said he wanted to be an astronaut “when he grows up.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education