Stella Banderas: The Truth About Antonio Banderas' Daughter

Oscar nominee Antonio Banderas has a lot of love in his life. From the relationship he enjoys with his business owner girlfriend, Nicole Kimpel, to the long marriage he had with his ex-wife, Melanie Griffith, the Pain and Glory star has been very fortunate. This sentiment also applies to Banderas' family, as he's the proud dad of Stella Banderas, who he welcomed into the world alongside Griffith in 1996. He also helped raise his ex-wife's kids: her son, Alexander Bauer, and her daughter, Dakota Johnson, who is best known for her role in the 50 Shades of Grey series. "They called me Paponio, a mixture between Papa and Antonio," he told Vulture in September 2019 about his adoring stepkids.

Although Banderas loves all of his kids equally, he seems to have an especially close connection with Stella, who he has brought to many red carpet premieres in recent years. And if you've followed the actor's family from the very beginning, you might be surprised to see how the young adult has seemingly grown up overnight. We dive deep into this impressive transformation after the jump.

Comparatively to her big sister Dakota Johnson, Stella Banderas appears to be more private despite her Hollywood-level looks. InStyle reported in a 2018 interview with Stella's mom, Melanie Griffith, that she attended the University of Southern California and had "spent the summer taking acting classes at Stella Adler." The school is a "world-renowned acting school" founded by actress and teacher Stella Adler, an accomplished theater star who developed her own acting method. It's unclear whether the young adult graduated from USC or is still enrolled in school, but there's a possibility she might be interested in acting going forward. Stella stared in 1999's Crazy in Alabama and appeared on a game show called Banzai in 2003, after all.

As for Stella's recent endeavors, it appears she's working with Vision Los Angeles, a "boutique-styled, high fashion and beauty agency dedicated to the discovery and development of fresh, unique talent in the U.S. Representing both women and men," as a January 2020 Instagram post seems to suggest. The Spain native also partnered with Violet Grey, "highly curated selection of the best luxury beauty products," for their Lip Sync campaign. The campaign features "amazing women" wear "amazing makeup" and singing along to "amazing new music." The brand chose Stella because of her "apparent beauty and Hollywood lineage," which makes perfect sense to us.

Who knows where this young lady will end up down the road, but it looks like her future is bright.

Not only is Antonio Banderas an incredible actor, but he's also an amazing father. Case in point: Antonio is prepared to support Stella in any career endeavor, especially where it concerns acting. "I think she's initiating it in the right way," he said during a June 2018 appearance on Access Hollywood when asked about his daughter's interest in acting. "She wants to explore that territory, and I think she's doing it in the way you should do it. Putting the elbows on the table and studying. You know, confronting yourself with acting. Then she'll decide if she wants to go on that path." And if Stella finds out acting isn't for her? "She's a very conscious and serious girl," the actor said about the young adult's future. "I want her to do what she really feels. And she'll have my support in any field that she decides to go — if she wants to be a doctor, I will be there supporting her. I don't want to force her to do anything she doesn't want to do. I want my daughter to be a free, independent woman. She has to find her way."

Yep, it sounds like Stella has an amazing guy in her corner.

Although it's clear Antonio and Stella Banderas have a great relationship, they don't agree on all fronts. This includes Antonio's fashion sense, which Stella and the actor's stepdaughter — Dakota Johnson — hope to improve. "They want papi to be more trendy, and sometimes I get caught in old patterns that I have for whatever reason," Antonio said during an event for Miami Fashion Week in 2017, per Fashionista. "Today, for example, they wouldn't like me because I'm wearing cowboy boots." However, the ladies are in support of tapered pants for their papi. "I've been coming every day with sneakers and pants that are very narrow over here," he said about his experimentation with skinny pants. "They like that kind of thing for me, but they don't like these boots. 'Papi, that's not you."

Considering Stella and Johnson are fashionistas, perhaps Antonio should consider taking their advice.