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

Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith welcomed their daughter Stella in 1996

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

Banderas and Griffith met when they costarred in the 1995 comedy Two Much. In May 1996, a year after the film was released, they got married in London. That September, the couple welcomed their daughter, born Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith, in her father’s home country of Spain.

When Stella was 17 years old, her parents announced that they were splitting up, and their divorce was finalized in 2015. “We have thoughtfully and consensually decided to finalize our almost twenty years marriage in a loving and friendly manner honoring and respecting each other, our family and friends and the beautiful time we have spent together.”
Since their split, Banderas and Griffith have spoken highly of each other, and have reunited on several occasions to support their daughter. In March 2023, Griffith shared two photos of their family of three at a restaurant. “Surrounding our Stella with love,” the actress captioned the snaps.

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

She was born in Spain

Stella was born in Marbella, Spain, on Sept. 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 omelet) and film (El Orfanato).

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

Then there’s Stella’s sister, actor Dakota Johnson, daughter of Griffith and her first husband, Don Johnson. Dakota is close with both Stella and her stepfather Banderas.

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

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

She appeared in her parents’ movie as a baby

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

“My little sister also played my mom’s youngest daughter, and she was a baby,” Dakota recalled to Vanity Fair in 2022. “She was like 1½ maybe. And every time Antonio, my stepfather — her dad — yelled, ‘Action,’ she’d freak, she’d just burst into tears and would be sobbing the entire take. He’d yell cut, come over, and be like, ‘Stella,’ and she’d be fine and happy. I think she thought it was really scary when he yelled action. And I was the one holding her the whole time. Like, running down the street holding this crying, crying baby.”