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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Olivia Hebert

Don Johnson shares rare family photo with five children including Dakota Johnson for 75th birthday

Don Johnson poses with all of his children in a rare photo celebrating his 75th birthday - (Instagram/donjohnson)

Don Johnson shared a rare photo with all of his children to celebrate his 75th birthday.

The Doctor Odyssey star marked the occasion with an Instagram post featuring Dakota Johnson and his other four kids on Sunday (December 15). Sitting on a staircase decked out in Christmas decor, Johnson exuded festive cheer in a fedora, scarf, and coat.

“My kids are my everything!!! Happy Birthday to me!!!” the Miami Vice actor captioned the heartwarming snap.

Joining him for the milestone birthday was his wife, Kelley Phleger, elegantly dressed in a black ensemble with an embroidered collar. Married since 1999, the couple shares three children: Grace, 24, Jasper, 22, and Deacon, 18.

Also present were Johnson’s older children — daughter Dakota, 35, from his marriage to Melanie Griffith, and son Jesse, 42, from his relationship with Patti D’Arbanville. Griffith, 67, added her own heartfelt comment to the post: “How beautiful this is!!! FAMILY is everything. Happy Birthday Don.”

Johnson’s blended family extends beyond his own biological children. He adopted Griffith’s son Alexander, whom she shares with Steven Bauer, during their marriage, and he remains close to Griffith’s daughter Stella Banderas from her relationship with Antonio Banderas.

In an interview with People earlier this year, the Rebel Ridge actor reflected on becoming an empty-nester after his youngest child, Deacon, began college at the University of Southern California.

“Now that they’re all out of the house, it’s sad,” he said. “But they all come back. They never really leave. And honestly, you don’t want them to leave.”

His daughter Dakota has also spoken about the significance of their blended family.

In a March 2024 interview with Bustle, Dakota discussed the significance of chosen family, stating, “I grew up in a family that was so big, and I just believe in the saying ‘Blood is thicker than water.’ The actual saying is ‘The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,’ which means that the connections with people you choose are more solid than the connections to the people you’re actually born to.”

She added: “I have four brothers and two sisters, and my two sisters are not blood-related to each other, but they are sisters, and they call each other sisters and they are always together. And my two older brothers are not blood-related to each other. And they are brothers.”

Emphasizing the enduring nature of their familial bonds, Johnson concluded, “No matter how f***ed up it is, or who’s in rehab, or who’s not speaking to whom, or who’s divorcing whom, we’re family. And we are always going to be a family.”

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