On the occasion of his 75th birthday, Don Johnson managed to gather all his children in an iconic photo on the staircase of his mansion. Dressed in a hat, coat, and scarf, the actor appears smiling alongside his wife, Kelley Phleger (55), whom he married in 1999 and with whom he shares three offspring, Grace (24), Jasper (22), and Deacon (18). From his union with Patti D'Arbanville (73), he had Jesse (42), and from his second marriage to Melanie Griffith (67) - yes, they married twice - Dakota (35) was born. The image also includes Alexander (39) - Melanie's son with Steven Bauer (68) - and Stella del Carmen (28), Antonio Banderas' (64) and Melanie's daughter, whom the actor also considers his children.
His peak of fame came with the series Miami Vice (1984-1989), for which Enzo Ferrari gifted him a Ferrari Testarossa for promoting the brand in the series, and Gianni Versace considered Don and his character, Sonny Crockett, as sources of inspiration, stating that "the first person I dressed in Miami was Don Johnson."
Since his debut in 1969 in the play Fortune and Men's Eyes, he has not stopped working. Currently, he can be seen on Netflix in the movie Rebel Ridge and on Disney+ in the series Doctor Odyssey. His fans still remember him for his frontal nudity in The Harrad Experiment (1973), which marked his first collaboration with Melanie Griffith and her mother, Tippi Hedren (94). When the Die Hard franchise started, producers considered him, but the role ultimately went to Bruce Willis. He was also considered for The Untouchables (1987), but the role went to Kevin Costner.
Conscious of his physique and his power of attraction to women, the star has had numerous romances with ladies as stunning as Yasmine Bleeth, Uma Thurman, Barbara Streisand - with whom he duetted Til I Love You -, Cybill Shepherd, Susan Sarandon, or Pamela Des Barres.
Undoubtedly, his relationship with Melanie was the most publicized and well-known. He had very affectionate words for her when interviewed by journalist Andy Cohen in 2021, later stating that he will always be connected to her: "When you have children together, I learned a very powerful lesson, for anyone paying attention. When you have a child with someone, whether you are married or not, you are with that someone forever. And I agree with that. I love Melanie. We get along well, and the children are healthier because of it." The actress met him at 14 and later declared that he was the most beautiful person she had ever seen.
In such a competitive industry like Hollywood, Johnson has managed to forge lasting friendships with Jack Nicholson, Nick Nolte, Kevin Costner, Robert Wagner, or Bruce Willis himself. However, he couldn't avoid the inevitable as the industry engulfed him into the world of drugs, dangerous parties, and sexual addictions. He thought he would die young, but he managed to break free from that dark void and today boasts of having better sex than when he stopped being a virgin at 12 with his 16-year-old babysitter. At 18, he proved to be quite a dandy as he started dating his theater professor in college.
True to his style, Don Johnson has always been clear on how he would dress for the most important events he was invited to, even if it caused a stir in the media when he didn't wear socks during a meeting with the then-president Ronald Reagan. In his defense, the actor stated, "I have always said that for me, a sports jacket over a t-shirt is enough to meet anyone, except for the queen. As for socks, well, I must confess that I simply don't have any. I live in Miami."
At 75, far from thinking about retirement, he still reviews scripts and accepts those that align with his thinking. He still enjoys an extraordinary physique, his medium-length hair remains as lush, and his light eyes continue to mesmerize through any screen.