Dakota Johnson Reveals the Musician Who Was Her Teenage Crush

Dakota Johnson has revealed that one British music star once caught her attention in a big way. During a lighthearted interview, the actor named Damon Albarn, best known as the frontman of Blur and the co-creator of Gorillaz, as a former celebrity crush. The admission came during promotional conversations for the film Verity, in which Johnson appears alongside Anne Hathaway and Josh Hartnett. In BuzzFeed’s Co-Star Test interview, the cast answered questions about one another, including a prompt about past famous crushes. Johnson named Albarn without much hesitation, while Hathaway initially seemed unsure who he was, creating an amusing moment in the exchange. Albarn has been a prominent figure in British music for decades. He rose to international fame with Blur, one of the best-known acts associated with the 1990s Britpop movement, whose hits include “Song 2,” “Girls & Boys,” “Parklife” and “Tender.” In 1998, he teamed up with illustrator Jamie Hewlett to create Gorillaz, the animated band known for its fictional members and wide-ranging musical collaborations. Johnson’s answer fits with her previously expressed fondness for musicians. She dated British musician Matthew Hitt, frontman of Drowners, from 2014 to 2016, and later had a long relationship with Coldplay singer Chris Martin. The article reports that their relationship began in 2017 and ended in 2025. In an interview with Vogue, Johnson joked that musicians seem to like her and that she likes them, while adding that they can be complicated. She has also spoken enthusiastically about Blur’s music. In a 2022 conversation with actor Paul Mescal, she praised songs including “Tender” and mentioned that she has the word tattooed on her arm, though she did not confirm that the tattoo was directly inspired by the track.