Antonio Banderas, 66, shares never-before-seen wedding photos of daughter Stella as Melanie Griffith joins emotional tribute


Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith married in 1996 and welcomed their daughter Stella in the same year


antonio banderas melanie griffith stella red carpet© Europa Press via Getty Images
Faye James
Faye JamesSenior Editor
50 minutes ago

Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith took a moment to celebrate the first anniversary of their daughter Stella's wedding to Alex Gruszynski on October 18.

The actors, who were married from 1996 to 2014, both shared emotional tributes to their daughter on the special day. 

antonio banderas stella wedding day© Instagram
Antonio shared an unseen photo from Stella's wedding

Antonio shared a snap of him kissing Stella's head on her wedding day, with a sprawling landscape in the background. "1 year ago," he captioned the sweet photo. Melanie also posted a picture to commemorate, this time of Stella kissing her husband on the cheek. 

"Stella and Alex have been married for one year! October 18th 2025," she wrote in the caption. "I see them thriving in their union. I feel them happy, excited, solid, content and deeply in love. Happy Anniversary you two!!"

Stella and Alex's star-studded wedding

stella banderas husband alex© Instagram
Melanie also shared a post on Stella's special day

Stella and Alex married in Valladolid, Spain, in front of a slew of famous faces, including the bride's half-sister, Dakota Johnson, her grandmother, Tippi Hedren, and friends Malia and Sasha Obama.

The couple got engaged in August 2024, and were preschool classmates before their relationship blossomed in 2015. Stella and Alex took time apart between 2019 and 2023, before rekindling their romance. Antonio and Melanie supported Stella at the glamorous event, and proved their friendship was still going strong despite finalizing their divorce in 2015. 

Antonio and Melanie's long-lasting bond

The Mask of Zorro star told People in 2026 that Melanie was "if not my best friend, one of my best friends".

"When I go to Los Angeles, we get together anyway, we got a lot of fun. We laugh and we just... It's a very healthy thing, and it was very healthy for our kids," he explained.

Melanie and Antonio were married for 18 years© WireImage
Antonio and Melanie were married from 1996 to 2014

"But the thing is that when we were…[a] couple, when we separated, we were always very sincere. We came out of our relationship in a nice way that was very important for [the kids] and for us."

The pair share a blended family, with Melanie being the mother of Alexander, Dakota, and Stella, and the stepmother of Jesse Johnson, her ex-husband Don Johnson's son. She welcomed Dakota with Don, and Alexander with her second husband, Steven Bauer.

Melanie Griffiths, Antonio Banderas and Stella Banderas
The duo remained close after their divorce was finalized in 2015

Antonio shared with Fox News Digital that despite their split, they still had two decades of memories together that they wanted to honor by staying friends.

"The secret is just to understand each other. I'm a very good friend of my ex-wife. I don't have anything against her," he said. "She's a wonderful woman, and I still respect and support that idea that everything that happened between her and me for 20 years was beautiful."

Antonio Banderas reunites with ex Melanie Griffith© Instagram/ @antoniobanderas
They celebrated Stella and Alex's wedding in 2025

"Of course, we had our bad moments," the star admitted. "But the thing that I will remember forever is those beautiful moments that we had together. And one of those beautiful moments has to do with our kids and the family."

Antonio and Melanie met briefly at the Oscars in 1989 before starring in the 1995 film Two Much together. They fell in love on the set of the movie and married in 1996. 

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