Deacon James Johnson is the youngest son of actor Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger. Born on April 29, 2006, he grew up around Santa Barbara, California, within a Hollywood family that includes actress Dakota Johnson. Now 20 in 2026, Deacon has built a public profile around education rather than the entertainment industry. He attended Thacher School before being publicly linked to the University of Southern California. 

His record also includes sports, music, community mentorship through the Riviera Mentorship Project Santa Barbara, and work with Kids STEP UP. Despite his celebrity-family connections, Deacon has maintained considerable privacy while developing interests outside Hollywood.

Who Is Deacon Johnson?

Deacon James Johnson was born on April 29, 2006, and is 20 years old in 2026. He is the son of Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger and the youngest member of their immediate family.

His siblings connect him to a large Hollywood family. Dakota Johnson and Jesse Johnson are his paternal half-siblings, while Atherton Grace Johnson and Jasper Breckenridge Johnson share both parents with him.

Deacon’s public recognition comes partly from this celebrity family, but his own activities center on education, sports, music, and community mentorship. Unlike several relatives working in the entertainment industry, he has kept much of his private life outside a large public profile.

Deacon Johnson’s Early Life and Upbringing

Deacon was born in 2006 and grew up with strong ties to Santa Barbara, California. His family also has deep connections to Los Angeles and Hollywood through Don Johnson’s work in entertainment.

His childhood included school, academics, sports, music, and other creative activities. Grace and Jasper were his closest full siblings at home, while Dakota and Jesse were part of the wider family.

Family photographs have provided occasional glimpses into his upbringing. Still, Deacon experienced far less direct entertainment-media exposure than many children from celebrity families.

Deacon Johnson’s Parents, Siblings, and Famous Family

Deacon belongs to a blended family whose careers stretch across film, television, music, modeling, and photography.

Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger

Don Johnson became famous as Sonny Crockett on Miami Vice and later starred in Nash Bridges. His film and television work also includes Knives Out, Book Club, and Rebel Ridge.

Kelley Phleger grew up in San Francisco and attended the University of California, Berkeley. She later worked as a Montessori teacher. PEOPLE reports that she married Don on April 29, 1999.

Their biological children together are Grace, Jasper, and Deacon James Johnson. Family photographs, graduations, and trips have occasionally offered public views of Don’s approach to fatherhood.

Dakota Johnson

Dakota Mayi Johnson was born in 1989 to Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith. She is Deacon’s paternal half-sister.

Dakota built her acting career with projects including The Social Network and Fifty Shades of Grey, where she played Anastasia Steele. Later credits include The Lost Daughter, Madame Web, and How to Be Single.

Through Melanie Griffith, the wider Johnson-Griffith blended family also includes Alexander Bauer and Stella Banderas. Their fathers are Steven Bauer and Antonio Banderas, respectively.

Jesse Johnson

Jesse Wayne Johnson was born in 1982 to Don Johnson and Patti D’Arbanville. He is Deacon’s older paternal half-brother.

Jesse works as an actor and musician. His television credits include Grey’s Anatomy, Hawaii Five-O, Twin Peaks, and NCIS, while his career also includes independent films and production work such as Chapman.

Grace Johnson

Atherton Grace Johnson was born in 1999 to Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger. She attended the University of Southern California and developed interests in photography and modeling.

Grace has been associated with IMG Models and fashion names such as Gucci and Banana Republic. Her modeling world has included figures such as Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Lily Aldridge, Karlie Kloss, and Paloma Elsesser.

Her fashion and editorial connections also include Goop, Glamour, Santa Barbara Magazine, Christian Cowan, and a Powerpuff Girls fashion show. She has also used the name Dakota Jinx in creative work.

Jasper Johnson

Jasper Breckenridge Johnson was born in 2002 to Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger. He played basketball in high school and has spoken publicly about an interest in studying business.

Jasper has also appeared in family social-media posts and shares an interest in sports, including baseball and the Dodgers. By 2025, he remained one of the less publicly visible members of the family.

Education: Thacher School, Graduation, and USC

Education provides some of the clearest evidence of Deacon’s path outside Hollywood.

Thacher School and Class of 2024

Deacon attended Thacher School in Ojai, California. During high school, he combined academics with athletics and community work.

He was a senior in 2024 and belongs to the Class of 2024. A 2025 Walker Bell Challenge supporter page from Thacher identifies Deacon Johnson as an “Alum ’24,” supporting his graduation and alumni status.

His school life also connected him with Santa Barbara community projects rather than the entertainment business.

University of Southern California

After Thacher, Deacon was publicly linked to the University of Southern California. In September 2024, Don Johnson discussed dropping his youngest son off at USC for college.

USC’s Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy combines areas such as creativity, technology, business, and innovation. Deacon’s name later appeared in the Academy’s academic recognition records.

Public information does not establish every detail of his degree program, campus activities, or eventual graduation plans.

Fall 2025 Dean’s List

The USC Iovine and Young Academy lists Deacon Johnson on its Fall 2025 Dean’s List. The Academy requires students on that list to earn a GPA of at least 3.5 across 12 or more units of letter-graded coursework.

The record provides a notable academic achievement connected with a Deacon Johnson at the University of Southern California.

Riviera Mentorship Project and Deacon Johnson’s Community Leadership

While at Thacher School, Deacon became a co-founder and co-president of the Riviera Mentorship Project Santa Barbara, or RMPSB. The project was created by six local high-school students with roots in the Santa Barbara community.

RMPSB connected high school students with younger middle-school students. Its mentorship model focused on genuine connections and support for social and educational challenges.

The work placed Deacon in a community-leadership role involving youth mentorship. It also added a documented record of community service to his high-school activities.

Kids STEP UP and Deacon Johnson’s Current Community Involvement

Deacon is also listed by Kids STEP UP, which connects academic support with social activities and athletics. His profile says he attended Thacher School and served as president of the Riviera Mentorship Project.

Kids STEP UP says Deacon values one-on-one dynamics and small-group environments for children’s academic progress. His approach also incorporates athletic exercises into the learning day.

The organization lists music, football, basketball, and technology among his passions. This youth-support work extends his earlier involvement in mentorship and education.

Sports and Athletic Record

Sports were more than a casual interest during Deacon’s years at Thacher.

Basketball, Football, and Baseball

MaxPreps records Deacon Johnson as a 2024 senior athlete for the Thacher Toads. He competed in varsity basketball as a forward wearing #22.

He also appeared on the varsity football roster and played varsity baseball wearing #1. His MaxPreps history shows football activity in 2022 and baseball and football roster additions in 2023.

The record establishes participation in three high-school sports rather than simply a general interest in games or outdoor activities.

Dodgers Fandom and Family Sports Interests

Baseball also appears in Deacon’s family life. He has been associated with the Los Angeles Dodgers through family outings and social-media posts.

Jasper Johnson has his own basketball background, while football and other sporting events have appeared in the family’s public activities.

Documented Athletic Measurements

MaxPreps listed Deacon at 6’3″ and 155 lbs during his Thacher athletic career. These measurements belong to his varsity-athlete profile rather than a general celebrity body-measurement database.

That sports record provides a dated public source for his high-school height and weight.

Music, Technology, and Personal Interests

Music has appeared repeatedly in Deacon’s family life. His interests have included guitar, piano, and ukulele, while his brother Jesse Johnson pursued music professionally.

Don Johnson has also shared footage showing his sons playing guitars together. ABC News highlighted one such family music moment in its December 2024 coverage.

Deacon’s interests extend to football, basketball, and baseball. Kids STEP UP also lists technology among his passions.

Earlier family material connected him with science, space exploration, and the idea of becoming an astronaut. Those childhood interests do not establish aerospace engineering as his current career path.

Is Deacon Johnson an Actor? Career Status and Future Direction

Deacon Johnson does not have an established professional acting career or public filmography. There is also no clear agency representation linking him to professional film or television work.

That separates his current path from Don Johnson, Dakota Johnson, and Jesse Johnson. Hollywood and the entertainment industry remain part of his family background, but not a confirmed profession for Deacon.

Publicly documented interests include academics, technology, science, music, and sports. Earlier references to becoming an astronaut or aerospace engineer describe interests rather than an established career.

He is likewise not publicly established as a professional athlete, model, musician, or influencer. His education at USC and community work offer clearer evidence of his current direction than career predictions.

Public Appearances, Social Media, and Privacy

Deacon has appeared in family gatherings, holiday photographs, birthday tributes, sporting events, and other public moments shared by Don Johnson or Kelley Phleger.

A 2021 birthday and a family trip to Italy appeared in social-media coverage. In March 2023, Kelley shared that she and Deacon toured four universities while considering college options.

He has also been photographed with Jimmy Fallon. Earlier family activity included charitable Christmas Eve work in Santa Barbara in December 2018.

More recent reporting indicates that Deacon’s Instagram is private, while its profile has referenced “Sb usc.”

His limited public profile means most widely circulated photographs come from family accounts or publications such as PEOPLE rather than a public influencer-style social-media presence.

Recent Public and Family Updates

Recent family appearances help bring Deacon’s public timeline beyond his high-school years.

Don Johnson’s 75th Birthday

Don Johnson celebrated his 75th birthday on December 15, 2024. A family photograph published through his Instagram showed Deacon with Kelley Phleger and his siblings.

ABC News reported on the image on December 16. Grace Johnson and Jasper Johnson appeared alongside Deacon, while Dakota Johnson and Jesse Johnson joined the wider family celebration.

Recent Family Music Moments

Around the same period, Don Johnson shared footage of his sons playing guitars. ABC News included the family music moment in its coverage of the birthday celebration.

The social-media footage offers a direct public example of music remaining part of Deacon’s family environment.

Verified Facts, Conflicting Claims, and Online Misinformation

A verified-facts-first profile keeps personal details tied to identifiable records.

Deacon Johnson’s Birth Date

Deacon James Johnson was born on April 29, 2006. The date also falls on Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger’s wedding anniversary, which began with their marriage on April 29, 1999.

Dates such as April 19, 2006, or a nonspecific May 2006 birth date should not replace the documented April 29 date.

Height and Other Personal Details

Deacon’s MaxPreps profile from his Thacher School athletic career lists a height of 6’3″ and weight of 155 lbs.

Those are dated sports-record measurements. Current body measurements cannot be established from family photographs or generic celebrity pages.

Net Worth and Financial Claims

Deacon Johnson does not have a verified individual net worth in public financial information.

Figures presented by celebrity websites should not be treated as confirmed wealth. No reliable public record establishes his personal income, earnings, assets, investments, property holdings, employment compensation, or other financial arrangements.

Relationship Status

Deacon has kept relationships within his private life.

No verified public information establishes a current girlfriend, partner, or relationship status.

Name and Identity Confusion

Deacon James Johnson’s full name helps distinguish Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger’s son from unrelated people named Deacon Johnson.

Search results can include business professionals, athletes, therapists, religious figures, and students. Professional directories such as LinkedIn can therefore create mistaken identity.

Instagram results also require careful identification. Apple Music contains similarly named recording acts that should not automatically be connected with Deacon.

Deacon Johnson Timeline

Conclusion

Deacon Johnson’s family legacy links him to Don Johnson, Kelley Phleger, and Dakota Johnson, but his documented path extends beyond a Hollywood family profile.

His record includes Thacher School, USC, and the University of Southern California’s academic environment. Community leadership through the Riviera Mentorship Project and later involvement with Kids STEP UP add education and mentorship to that picture.

Music, sports, and technology remain visible interests. At the same time, Deacon maintains a relatively private public profile, leaving his future direction open as his current activities continue to develop.

More Celebrity Profiles: Grace Johnson: Don Johnson’s Daughter, Age, Career & Family

FAQs

Who is Deacon Johnson?

Deacon James Johnson is the youngest son of actor Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger and the paternal half-brother of actress Dakota Johnson.

How old is Deacon Johnson?

Deacon Johnson was born on April 29, 2006, and turned 20 years old on April 29, 2026.

Who are Deacon Johnson’s parents?

Deacon Johnson’s parents are Miami Vice actor Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger, a University of California, Berkeley graduate and former Montessori teacher who married in 1999.

Is Dakota Johnson Deacon Johnson’s sister?

Yes. Dakota Johnson is Deacon Johnson’s paternal half-sister; they share Don Johnson as their father but have different mothers, including Dakota’s mother Melanie Griffith.

How many siblings does Deacon Johnson have?

Deacon has four biological siblings: full siblings Atherton Grace Johnson and Jasper Breckenridge Johnson, plus paternal half-siblings Jesse Wayne Johnson and Dakota Johnson.

Where did Deacon Johnson go to school?

Deacon attended Thacher School, graduating with the Class of 2024, and was later linked to USC and its Iovine and Young Academy.

Is Deacon Johnson an actor?

No professional acting career, acting credits, or filmography is established for Deacon Johnson, unlike his relatives Don Johnson, Dakota Johnson, and Jesse Johnson.

What sports does Deacon Johnson play?

Deacon Johnson’s Thacher Toads athletic record lists varsity basketball as a #22 forward, varsity football, and varsity baseball wearing #1.