Antonio Banderas - Biography

Last Editor: eddiep57				Antonio Banderas Biography -   Name : Antonio Banderas Real Name : Jose Antonio Dominguez Bandera Date Of Birth : August 10, 1960 Place of Birth : Malaga, Spain Sign : Sun in Leo, Moon in Aries Occupation : Actor Education : School of Dramatic Art Malaga, Spain Brother : Francisco Dominguez Bandera Wife : Wife: Melanie Griffith (actress) ex-wife: Ana Leza Daughter : Stella del Carmen Fan Mail : C/O Creative Artists Agency 9830 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, USA

Antonio Banderas Trivia -

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#24). [1995] Education: School of Dramatic Art, Málaga, Spain Stepfather of Alexander Bauer and Dakota Johnson. Siblings: One younger brother, Francisco Chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world [1996] Father of Stella Banderas. Married Ana Leza at the Church of San Nicolas in Madrid. Among those who attended were Carmen Maura and Pedro Almodóvar. Son-in-law of Tippi Hedren and Peter Griffith. In Spanish, his surname means "flags". Was nominated for Broadway's 2003 Tony Award for Best Actor (Musical) for a revival of "Nine The Musical." Spanish citizen. Shares a birthday with Rosanna Arquette and Nicoletta Braschi. Support Real Madrid soccer team. Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame [18th October 2005]. Has his own perfume/cologne brand for men. He had to learn English phonetically and completely from scratch when he arrived in the US to try his luck in Hollywood. Ex-son-in-law of Concha Leza. Despite being raised Catholic, Banderas described himself as an agnostic in a People magazine interview but added that whatever spiritual beliefs his kids may or may not have is fine with him. Received an honorary doctorate on May 2000 from Dickinson College, Pennsylvania. Listed his favorite 2 movies as Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) and Touch of Evil (1958). Formed his own touring theater group in Spain where he met director Pedro Almodóvar. Became a fan of his wife Melanie Griffith long before he met her in 1995. He had first seen her in the film "Something Wild" (1986) and thought she was beautiful and later told a Spanish magazine in 1989 that he would love to meet her.

Antonio Banderas Detailed Biography -

Jose Antonio Dominguez Banderas was born on August 10, 1960 in Malaga, Spain, during the height of the oppressive regime of tyrannical leader Francisco Franco. He was named after his father, Jose, and his mother’s beloved brother, Antonio. His mother, Ana, was a school teacher. The birth of his brother, Francisco Javier, better known as Chico, came just eighteen months later. Antonio knew fairly early in life that he wanted to be an actorAntonio enrolled in drama classes - against his parents’ wishes - and put together a group of other young thespians to form his own troupe. The crew traveled to little towns all over Spain performing on the streets. In 1981 he moved to Madrid and won a place as an ensemble member of the esteemed National Theater of Spain. Being a struggling young actor he also worked as a waiter and took small modeling jobs to provide for himself.After a performance at the theater, Antonio was introduced to Pedro Almod-var, a radical young film director. Pedro was one of the most outrageous and talented of an emerging breed of cinematic pioneers and wanted Antonio to help him forge a new film industry. They joined forces and made several respectable and controversial movies. It was the 1988 hit “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” that brought Banderas international attention American director, Arne Glimcher, cast Antonio in “The Mambo Kings” even though Banderas couldn’t speak English. Antonio was determined to conquer the language barrier and learned all his lines phonetically. He also took intensive English lessons at a Berlitz school. Motivated by a frantic desire to learn and to succeed, he delivered a stunningly deep rendering of his lines that won him high praise for his performance. His next flick was “Philadelphia” and offered up a remarkably creditable performance as Tom Hanks understanding lover. He went on to play in a string of movies that brought out even more of his incredible talent such as “The House of the Spirits” (1993), “Interview With the Vampire” (1994), “Desperado” (1995), and “Assassins” (1995). He also showed his incredible talent for dance and singing in the musical “Evita” with Madonna.In 1995 Antonio and Melanie Griffith stared in the flick “Two Much” and became romantically linked. After a whirl wind romance, and to the surprise of many, were married in May of 1996. The couple welcomed the birth of their first child, Stella del Carmen, the following September. The family has two home bases and as he stated in one article “Melanie and I have two lives, a professional one that we developed in Los Angeles—apart from which it’s the city where Melanie was raised, and the other, more familial, in our house in Spain where we live when we don’t work.” His wish is to impart the best of both worlds into his daughter. “I wanted that she have a marked Spanish character and that she speak the two languages very well. And clearly that she will respect her Anglo-Saxon side” he has stated.