José Antonio Domínguez Bandera known as Antonio Banderas


Spanish actor. His early films in Spain include Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) and Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990), both of which were international successes. He went to Hollywood in 1991 and learned to speak English to play a Cuban trumpeter in the film adaptation of the Pulitzer prize-winning novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (1992). In 1996 he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award when he starred opposite the singer and actor Madonna in the film adaptation of the musical Evita.

Born: 10-Aug-1960
Birthplace: Malaga, Spain


Gender: Male
Religion: Roman Catholic
Race or Ethnicity: Hispanic
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor

Nationality: Spain
Executive summary: Feel the deadly poke of Zorro

Antonio Banderas saw Hair on stage with his family when he was 15, and decided by intermission that he wanted to be an actor. He dropped out of high school, but later got an equivalency diploma. He was a struggling stage actor in Madrid for several years, and began appearing in Spanish movies in the early 1980s. He first came to Americans' attention in the bizarre art films of Pedro Almodóvar, including Matador, Law of Desire, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down. Hollywood came for Banderas, and he's worked primarily in English-language films since he was Tom Hanks' lover in Philadelphia and a bloodsucker in Interview with the Vampire. He played El Mariachi in the two big-budget sequels to the original El Mariachi. He was also Zorro in the listless Mark of Zorro and Zorro 2. He provided the voice of Puss In Boots in Shrek 2, and was moved to tears at the end of the film's premiere.


Father: Jose Dominguez (policeman, d. 2008)
Mother: Dona Ana Banderas (teacher)
Brother: Francisco Javiar Banderas ("Chico")
Wife: Ana Leza (actress, m. 1988, div. 1996)
Wife: Melanie Griffith (m. 14-May-1996, one daughter)
Daughter: Stella Banderas (b. 24-Sep-1996 in Marbella, Spain)
Daughter: Dakota Mayi Johnson (stepdaughter, b. 4-Oct-1989, dau. of Don Johnson)


University: School of Dramatic Art, Malaga, Spain