Who Is Antonio Banderas Dating? His Relationship Status Explained

The Short Answer

Antonio Banderas is in a relationship with Nicole Kimpel. The Spanish actor, now 66, has been with Kimpel — a Dutch investment banker roughly 20 years his junior — since 2014, making theirs a relationship of over a decade. They are not married, and Banderas has said he is in no rush to wed again after two divorces. Kimpel has been his constant companion at premieres, Cannes appearances and family events for ten years, and the couple splits time between his native Málaga, London and Los Angeles. Before Kimpel, Banderas was married to Ana Leza (1987-1996) and then to Melanie Griffith (1996-2015), one of Hollywood's most glamorous unions of the 1990s and 2000s. He has one daughter, Stella del Carmen (born 1996), with Griffith. At 66, after surviving a 2017 heart attack that he says changed his outlook on life, Banderas seems content: a thriving late-career renaissance (Pain and Glory earned him an Oscar nomination in 2020), a beloved daughter and a decade-long partnership with Kimpel.

Who Is Nicole Kimpel?

Nicole Kimpel is a Dutch investment banker who has been Antonio Banderas's partner since 2014. The two reportedly met at the Cannes Film Festival that year — she was working in finance, he was newly separated from Melanie Griffith — and they have been together ever since. Kimpel, born around 1980, is approximately 20 years younger than Banderas, an age gap the tabloids noted but the couple has never addressed as an issue. Unlike his ex-wives, both actresses, Kimpel comes from the business world, and friends say she brought stability and normalcy to Banderas's life at a turbulent moment. She accompanies him to major events — the Goya Awards, Cannes, his Málaga theater openings — but maintains her own career and a relatively low profile. The couple is not married, and Banderas has said in interviews that after two marriages, he feels no need for a third wedding: what they have works. At 66, with Kimpel in her mid-forties, the relationship has outlasted his first marriage and is approaching the length of his second — a quiet testament to its strength.

Marriage to Melanie Griffith (1996-2015)

Banderas married Melanie Griffith on May 14, 1996, after meeting on the set of Two Much (1995). She was Hollywood royalty — daughter of Tippi Hedren, star of Working Girl — and he was the smoldering Spanish import; together they were one of the 1990s' great glamour couples. Their daughter Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith was born on September 24, 1996, four months after the wedding. For nearly two decades, they were fixtures on red carpets, famously affectionate and famously tattooed — Griffith had 'Antonio' inked on her arm. The marriage weathered Griffith's well-documented struggles, and Banderas stood by her publicly. But in June 2014 Griffith filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences; it was finalized in December 2015. The split was described as amicable, and they have remained on good terms, united by Stella. Banderas was 54 when the marriage ended. Griffith later had the 'Antonio' tattoo removed — the symbolic end of Hollywood's great Latin love story, and the beginning of his chapter with Kimpel.

First Marriage: Ana Leza (1987-1996)

Before Hollywood, there was Ana Leza. Banderas married the Spanish actress in 1987, during his years as a rising star of Pedro Almodóvar's films (Matador, Law of Desire, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown). Leza was his partner through the leap to America — The Mambo Kings (1992), Philadelphia (1993), Interview with the Vampire (1994) — the period when the Málaga boy became an international star. The marriage ended in 1996, as his relationship with Griffith began; the timing made the split tabloid fodder in Spain. There were no children from the marriage. Leza has kept a low profile since. Banderas was 36 when it ended — nearly a decade younger than when his second marriage would end. The Leza years were his artistic coming-of-age: the Almodóvar muse becoming a Hollywood leading man, with his first wife beside him for the transformation. Like many first marriages that coincide with fame's arrival, it did not survive the altitude change.

Daughter Stella del Carmen

Banderas's only child, Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith, was born September 24, 1996, and is now 30. Raised between Los Angeles and Spain, Stella grew up bilingual and bicultural, close to both parents despite their divorce. She has dabbled in acting and modeling but largely stayed out of the Hollywood machine, and she is known to be close to her father — appearing with him and Kimpel at family events. Banderas has spoken about fatherhood as his greatest role, saying Stella taught him what matters. He also became a stepfather to Griffith's children from her marriage to Don Johnson — Dakota Johnson (yes, that Dakota Johnson) and Alexander Bauer — and has remained warmly connected to them; Dakota has called him her 'bonus dad.' At 66, Banderas is a proud father and an affectionate stepfather, his family as blended and international as his career. Stella, now 30, is the living link between his Griffith years and his Kimpel present — beloved by all sides.

The Heart Attack That Changed Everything

In January 2017, Banderas suffered a heart attack — an event he says profoundly changed his perspective on life, love and work. He was 56, had recently launched his relationship with Kimpel into its third year and was pushing himself relentlessly. After emergency surgery (three stents), he reevaluated everything: he slowed down, focused on his theater company in Málaga, chose roles for art over commerce and has said the scare made him cherish his relationship with Kimpel and his daughter more deeply. The artistic result was Pain and Glory (2019), Almodóvar's autobiographical masterpiece, for which Banderas won Best Actor at Cannes and earned his first Oscar nomination at 59. He has described the post-heart-attack years as the happiest and most creative of his life — a man who faced mortality and chose meaning. Kimpel was beside him through the health crisis, cementing a partnership that had begun just three years earlier. At 66, he calls this his best chapter: the work matters more, the love is steadier and the stakes are clearer.

Antonio and Nicole Today

At 66, Antonio Banderas is in a remarkable late-career prime: acclaimed performances, his Teatro del Soho in Málaga thriving, and a personal life of unusual serenity for a former tabloid fixture. He and Nicole Kimpel, together since 2014, remain unmarried by choice — a decade-plus partnership that needs no paperwork, in his telling. They divide time between Spain, England and Los Angeles, with Stella, now 30, a frequent presence. Banderas has said he has no interest in a third marriage: 'I am very happy,' he told an interviewer, in the understatement of a man who learned the hard way. The boy from Málaga who conquered Hollywood, survived two divorces and a heart attack, and earned an Oscar nomination at 59 has arrived, at 66, at something like peace. Who is Antonio Banderas dating? Nicole Kimpel — for over a decade, and counting.

Zorro, Puss in Boots and the Renaissance

Banderas's career has had three acts. Act one: Almodóvar's muse (Matador, Women on the Verge). Act two: Hollywood leading man — The Mask of Zorro (1998), Desperado (1995), Philadelphia, Interview with the Vampire — and the voice of Puss in Boots in the Shrek franchise (2004 onward), a role so beloved it spawned two spinoff films. Act three: the renaissance — Pain and Glory (2019), Almodóvar's autobiographical masterpiece, won him Best Actor at Cannes and his first Oscar nomination at 59. Born August 10, 1960, in Málaga, Spain, he also founded the Teatro del Soho in his hometown, nurturing Spanish theater. At 66, with Nicole Kimpel his partner of a decade, Banderas is that rare star whose best work came latest. The heart attack of 2017 refocused him; the roles since have been his richest. Zorro made him famous; Almodóvar made him immortal.

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