All About Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith's Daughter Stella Banderas

Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith may have ended their nearly 20-year marriage in 2015, but the exes still have a close relationship — especially when it comes to co-parenting their daughter Stella Banderas.

Banderas and Griffith met when they starred in the 1995 comedy Two Muchos. In May 1996, a year after the film’s release, they got married in London. That September, the couple welcomed their daughter, born Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith, in her father’s native Spain.

When Stella was 17, her parents announced that they were separating, and their divorce was finalized in 2015. nice time we spent together.”

Since their split, Banderas and Griffith have praised each other and reunited several times to support their daughter. In March 2023, Griffith shared two photos of their family of three at a restaurant. “We surround our Stella with love,” the actress captioned the photo.

From her business endeavors to her red carpet appearances, here’s everything you need to know about Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith’s daughter Stella Banderas.

She was born in Spain

Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection

Stella was born in Marbella, Spain on September 24, 1996. Her father was born in the nearby city of Málaga.

Thanks to having one American parent and one Spanish parent, Stella speaks both English and Spanish. In an interview with Elle España In 2021, Stella shared some of her favorite Spanish things, including her favorite dish to cook (paella), food to eat (Spanish omelette), and movie (El Orfanato).

He has other famous relatives

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Stella’s parents aren’t the only celebrities in her family. Her maternal grandmother is Hollywood legend Tippi Hedren, known for her roles in Alfred Hitchcock films. Birds and Marnie.

There is also Stella’s sister, actress Dakota Johnson, daughter of Griffith and her first husband, Don Johnson. Dakota is close to both Stella and her stepfather Banderas.

In 2019, Dakota presented Banderas with an award at the Hollywood Film Awards and called Stella an “extraordinarily magical little sister” during her speech. “When I was 6 years old, my mother married a man who brought an incredibly bright light and a whole new world of creativity and culture — and an incredibly magical little sister to our family,” she said.

Besides Dakota, Stella also has a brother, Alexander Bauer, from her mother’s marriage to actor Steven Bauer, and a half-brother, Jesse Johnson, Griffith’s stepson.

She appeared in her parents’ film as a baby

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In 1999, Stella appeared in the film Crazy in Alabamawhich was directed by her father and starred her mother. Stella and her sister Dakota played the mother’s two children.

“My little sister also played mom’s youngest daughter, and she was a baby,” Dakota recalled Vanity Fair 2022. “She was about 1½ maybe. And every time Antonio, my stepfather—her dad—would yell, ‘Action,’ she’d go crazy, just burst into tears and sob the whole take. He’d yell, come and be like , ‘Stella,’ and she would be fine and happy. I think it was terrible when he yelled and I was the one holding this crying, crying baby the whole time.”

She attended events with her parents

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Considering her parents are both A-list actors, it’s no surprise that Stella has attended red carpet events with them over the years. In 2012, Stella, Banderas and Griffith attended a charity event together in Spain.

Two years earlier, Banderas spoke to PEOPLE about spending quality time with his daughter. I have one date with my daughter every week, he said. “I take her out to dinner alone and we can talk, spend some time together. We’re just trying to be dynamic in our relationship with the family, and it’s fun.”

Now that Stella is older, those dates include major industry events, including the 2020 Academy Awards. She walked the red carpet with her dad, who was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Pain and gloryas well as Banderas’ girlfriend Nicole Kimpel.

The following year, she joined her father at the opening of the 2021 San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain. Griffith posted a photo of the father-daughter duo at the festival on Instagram, writing, “Father and daughter ♥️♥️♥️ Stella and Antonio on the red carpet at the San Sebastion Film Festival.”

She applied for a legal name change

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Stella was born Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith, but in 2021 she requested a legal name change to Stella del Carmen Banderas, removing the “Griffith”.

Court documents obtained by PEOPLE show that Stella sought to “shorten” her name by “removing the additional last name.”

Stella said in the filing: “I do not normally use ‘Griffith’ when referring to myself or on documents… So omitting the name would be consistent with my regular usage.”

She founded her own brand

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In 2021, Stella founded the health and beauty brand Lightbound. The company released its first product that August, a perfume oil called “Alma”.

In a post on Instagram, Stella announced her entrepreneurial venture. “I put all my love and energy into @thisislightbound and I’m so excited to share space on the site as well as the first product,” she wrote. “A genderless perfume oil, handmade and sustainably packaged, reminiscent of and inspired by my intertwined upbringing between Málaga and Los Angeles.”

Griffith supported her daughter by sharing Stella’s post on Instagram. “Stella has launched her very nice perfume oil!!” – wrote the proud mom. “Look, try the smell, enjoy! She’s as beautiful as she is!”

She worked as her father’s second assistant director

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In November 2021, Banderas began directing and starring in the first Spanish-language production of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Company in the theater he founded in Málaga. He hired Stella as a second assistant director for the production, according to Reuters.

“When we’re walking home after rehearsals, she’s really doing her job,” the actor told reporters of his daughter. “When we’re at home, maybe during dinner I ask her very direct questions and then I get very direct answers about what she’s seeing.”

She posed with her mother for the campaign

Donato Sardella/Getty

Stella did not cooperate only with her father. In April 2021, she and Griffith appeared in a short film for Vogue and luxury jeweler Bulgari. The mother-daughter duo posed together wearing the brand’s jewelry and spoke with Vogue about their relationship.

Stella described her mum as “fearless, fierce and bright” and added: “My mother always emphasized the importance of having a good, loving relationship with myself. One of the ways I did this was by encouraging me to have a kind of open dialogue with my higher self , or God, or the universe She often says, ‘Seek wisdom.’ ”

As for Griffith, she said it felt “amazing” to watch Stella grow up. She said: “I’ve watched her go from this sometimes scared little girl who’s afraid to go to a new school to an amazing woman who starts her own business, does so many different things and is just so brave. And stubborn.”

Her mother has a tattoo of her name

Melanie Griffith’s Instagram

In July 2023, Griffith debuted a new tattoo on her upper arm. The crossword tattoo features the names of her four children: daughters Stella and Dakota, son Alexander and stepson Jesse.

The new ink replaced Griffith’s heart-shaped tattoo with Banderas’ name in it, which she got in the ’90s. The actress began the process of removing that tattoo shortly after announcing her divorce in 2014.

She got engaged in August 2024

In August 2024, Griffith announced in an Instagram post that Stella had become engaged to entrepreneur Alex Gruszynski.

Sharing black and white photos of Stella and her husband-to-be, the proud mum wrote: “He asked…. On his knees… she said yes ♥️ Stella and Alex are engaged ♥️. Their love story started in preschool! True love , deep love! Congratulations to loved ones ♥️💫

Stella posted a photo of her ring on her own Instagram, along with photos of her and Alex growing up together over the years. “I can hang out with my favorite person on earth forever!!!!!!!! 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍”, she wrote in the description.

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Source: HIS Education