Antonio Banderas - Personal Life

Personal Life

Banderas married his first wife, Ana Leza, on July 27, 1987. They separated in May 1995 when he began a relationship with actress Melanie Griffith while shooting Two Much. Banderas and Leza divorced in April 1996, and one month later, on May 14, 1996, he married Griffith in a private, low-key ceremony in London. They have a daughter, Stella Banderas, who appeared onscreen with Griffith in Banderas' directorial debut, Crazy in Alabama (1999). In 2002, the couple's dedication to philanthropy was recognized when they received the 'Stella Adler Angel Award' for their extensive charity work. Griffith has a tattoo of Banderas' first name encircled in a heart on her right shoulder.

In 1996, Banderas appeared among other figures of Spanish culture in a video supporting the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party lists in the general election.

He is a longtime supporter of Málaga CF.

He is an officer (mayordomo de trono) of a Roman Catholic religious brotherhood in Málaga and travels, with his wife and daughter, during Holy Week to take part in the processions, although in an interview with People magazine, Banderas had once described himself as an agnostic. In May 2010, Banderas received his honorary doctorate from the University of Málaga in the city where he was born.

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