The daughter of Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith has filed to legally drop her mother's surname to be known only as Stella del Carmen Banderas.
The 25-year-old model said that she doesn't "typically" use Griffith in her work and wants to legally remove the extra last name to match how she regularly identifies herself. However, Stella's Instagram username is still @stellabanderasgriffith, but her bio indicates that she is Stella Banderas.
According to Page Six, there are no issues between Stella and her mother, but she simply wants to shorten her legal name. Despite Melanie and Antonio's divorce more than six years ago, Stella's parents remain close.
The family also celebrated Melanie's 64th birthday in August with a special celebration organized by her daughters. Melanie's girls, especially Stella, are frequently featured on her social media accounts.
Who is Stella Banderas?
Born Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith, she is the first child of Antonio and Melanie, who got married in 1996. The actress has two older children from her previous relationships, Hollywood star Dakota Johnson and writer Alexander Bauer. Antonio, on the other hand, has only Stella as his offspring.
Stella was born in Spain, her father's native country, and has retained dual citizenship. Though she is close to her mom, Stella admits she is a daddy's girl and loves to post throwback photos of herself with her dad. In August, the young model joined her dad at the San Sebastián International Film Festival red carpet, which Melanie proudly shared with her followers.
Despite the age difference, Stella is also close to her famous sister, Dakota, and they go on vacations together. Dakota was six years old when her mother made her relationship with Antonio official. She was seven when her "magical" little sister, Stella, was born. Dakota's father is actor Don Johnson, but Antonio treats her like his own as he had raised her and Stella together.
Stella's parents divorced when she was 19 years old, but her father said that their daughter was the most beautiful thing that came out of his relationship with Melanie.
What's Next for Stella?
In 2020, Stella launched her first perfume fragrance, Lightbound, a mix of scents that reminds her of Easter cookies and loving home. Stella said that she had always loved perfumes as a child and started collecting scents at an early age. She developed Lightbound for two years as a "sustainable and handmade perfume."
While Stella took an acting course, doing movies like her parents didn't seem to be in her immediate goals. She is dead-set on completing her studies at the University of Southern California. From there, Stella might pursue her career as a model and keep gracing magazine covers and marketing ads.
In May 2020, Antonio confirmed that he had COVID-19 and spent much of his time in isolation in Spain. He shared on his Instagram that he was on 21 days of disciplinary confinement and kept in touch with her daughter via FaceTime since Stella lives in Los Angeles.
