Antonio Banderas is overjoyed at his daughter’s major life milestone! Stella Banderas is engaged to Alex Grusinski and her father is extremely happy about it. The actor appeared at the amfAR Gala held in Venice as part of the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, September 1. When asked by People about Stella’s engagement, Antonio replied, “I feel great! She’s happy, I’m happy too.”
He also spoke about his future son-in-law, who is an entrepreneur, and described him as brilliant. “I’ve known him since he was a little kid,” the Babygirl actor told the outlet. Antonio was one of the honorary members of the amfAR gala, which also included Richard Gere and filmmaker Mohammed Al Turki.
The annual event raises funds for HIV/AIDS research and awareness through ticket sales and auctions. At the ceremony, the Desperado actor was honored with the Global Impact Award. In a statement released by the organization, the actor was praised for his “dedication to philanthropy and commitment to making a difference in the fight against HIV inspires us all.”
Stella, 20, announced her engagement on Instagram with a series of photos, including some of her childhood pictures. She captioned the post, “I get to spend FOREVER with my favorite person on earth!!!!!!!!” Her mother Melanie Griffith commented on her post and wrote, “I love you both so much!! Congrats again!!!”
She also posted unseen photos of the couple on her Instagram, sharing the happy news. “He asked… on one knee… she said yes,” Melanie wrote in the caption. She also joked about their love story, which started in pre-school. “True love, deep love! Congrats to the loved ones!!!” she added.
Stella initially pursued acting, following in her father and mother’s footsteps. She starred in Crazy in Alabama (directed by Antonio) alongside her mother and half-sister Dakota Johnson in 1999. She continued acting, but shifted her focus to modeling and launched her beauty and fragrance brand, Lightbound, in 2021.
Speaking to PEOPLE in 2010, Antonio revealed how much he enjoys spending time with his daughter by going on “date night” every week. “I take her out to dinner alone and we talk, spend some time together,” he said.
