Antonio Banderas Says It’s ‘Happiness’ Reuniting With Stepdaughter Dakota Johnson in Spain

Antonio Banderas shared a sweet moment in Spain with stepdaughter Dakota Johnson.

“Happiness: Dakota in Malaga!” Banderas, 63, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, July 11, alongside a pic of the duo sitting together. Johnson, 34, rested her chin on Banderas and looped her arm through his as he leaned toward her.

The restaurant they dined at, Atrezzo, uploaded the same pic to their Instagram and wrote, “Visitas que nos alegran el ??.” The message roughly translates to, “Visits that warm our ??.”

Banderas also shared images of Johnson paying him and fellow actors a visit at the Teatro del Soho CaixaBank.

Banderas became a stepfather to Johnson when he married her mother, Melanie Griffith, in 1996. (Griffith, 66, shares Dakota with her first husband, Don Johnson.)

While Banderas and Giffifth separated in 2014, he has maintained a close bond with Dakota.

“She was 5 when I met her, when she became my family,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in January 2020. “I almost changed her nappies. She’s my daughter, I love her. I’ve been with her on my shoulders, traveling all around the world.”

In 2022, Banderas shared the sweet nickname that Dakota gave him. "She called me 'Paponio," he told E! News at the time. "I am 'Papi' and 'Antonio' altogether, so she always called me 'Paponio.'"

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He also reflected on the special moment of Dakota presenting him with an award at the Hollywood Film Awards in November 2019.

"She gave it to me and she gave one of the most beautiful speeches that anybody has given me," he told the outlet. "So, I was very thankful to know that she thought that about Papi."

Griffith has also continued to sing Banderas’ praises. In August 2016, she shared a message for her ex-husband in honor of his birthday, uploading a throwback red carpet photo.

“Happy Birthday to my ruggedly handsome ex husband @antoniobanderasoficial,” she captioned the post. “I will always love you.”

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Banderas and Griffith share daughter Stella, 27. He was previously married to Ana Leza from 1987 to 1996.

Griffith, for her part, previously wed Steve Bauer in 1981, with whom she shares son Alexander, 38. The former couple split in 1989. That same year, she rekindled her romance with Don, 74, remarrying him in 1989 before divorcing seven years later.

Griffith has since candidly shared her new feelings on marriage, telling Us and other reporters that “there is no need.”

“You don’t need to get married to have a child anymore,” she said in February 2016. “It’s not like there’s a stigma on a child, and getting married, you either go through the whole bulls–t of a prenuptial, or if you want to get divorced and you don’t have a prenuptial, then you wish you had a prenuptial.”