MELANIE GRIFFITH

Melanie Before Antonio

Born 9 August 1957, New York, New York, USA.
Height: 5'8" (Current Biography)
Married Antonio Banderas, May 14, 1996, London, England (Westminster)
Daughter Stella del Carmen born September 25, 1996
Married previously to Don Johnson (twice -one daughter Dakota); Steven Bauer (one son Alexander)

``He asked me how old I was,'' say Griffith, (talking about her first meeting with Antonio (or at least the first meeting she remembers) -- so much for viewing Antonio as a slick "Latin lover".)

What makes her so special?
Antonio: Well, love is very abstract. I can not really describe what I feel and give you adjectives of how she is or what I feel for her. It is just something that happened and it's there. It's crossing my body and my soul and my eyes and everything that I have inside.

When did you realize you guys were falling for each other?
Antonio: It was not something like this (snaps finger); it was progressive. And because of our lives -- we were sharing our lives with different people-- we didn't jump into that so fast, you know. It was inevitable at the end but it was little by little.
[Entertainment Tonight, August, 1995: ]

Isn't Love Grand? So What's Wrong With a Little Romance, anyway?

First row: Haunted premiere in London: Puerto Rico for Assassins; formal shot done in Spain, Fall, 1995
Second row: sea off the Costa del Sol, July, 1995; Puerto Rico; formal Spanish shot
Third row: Puerto Rican press conference; Shambala benefit, December, 1995; Paris on a short break when Antonio was doing the soundtrack to Evita in London

CAUGHT UNAWARE

The media was totally unprepared when Antonio Banderas fell in love with Melanie Griffith. The tabloids, who went all out in May 1995 when the relationship was obvious, were unable to see the relationship developing and totally ignored early warning signs. They at that time (and for a year and a half later) were still trying to milk a story out of a nonexistent Antonio and Madonna connection. Example: Premiere magazine included a short bit that was repeated by Ted Casablanca on E!'s Gossip:

Ted: Latin heartthrob Antonio Banderas is having too much fun on the set of his new movie "Two Much" in which he's caught romantically between Melanie Griffith and Daryl Hannah.
Antonio: "I love these three girls. When Melanie sees something, she says exactly what she thinks, she is a very free person, and that's wonderful. People is faking all the time, what the hell? To find a person like that is just gorgeous."

Ted: Now Madonna is someone on occasion to say what's on her mind. The question is, did she when she recently visited Antonio on the set of "Two Much? Now it's long been known that Madonna has wanted to take a siesta or two with the happily married Antonio.
Antonio: "It was just a personal visit, and my wife was there. We had dinner in my trailer."

Not only the media was caught unaware by the developing relationship, but also their co-workers. However, this merely confirms what Antonio has said -- that they were very professional while filming Two Much and were not "fooling around" at the time. Apparently, how important Melanie was becoming to him wasn't really clear to Antonio until the movie was wrapping up. One co-worker who admits he didn't have a clue was Danny Aiello.

Did Aiello feel the sparks coming?
`I never saw any of that. I'm an idiot. I met Banderas' wife. She was there. I met Don Johnson. Don was there. So the last thing in the world I would think is that there's something going on.

"It had to be the most discreet thing I've ever seen, because it was not obvious to any of us.'' According to Aiello, the co-stars became beloved infidels when the production was about to wrap in the Bahamas. ``And it was only the two of them. I think that's when it happened. And they are in love. They are in love. They are like two little kids.'' [Heat, Feb 13, 96]

Antonio described in GQ how the relationship started "little by little"
"Sometimes you are working with an actress and you get infatuated by the image," Banderas says. "It's not that you've got to go to the bed with her. It's just that you like her. But at the end of the day, you go home and have your normal life, and these kind of things just can't happen.

"With Melanie, I liked her, and we were laughing together and spending some time and making jokes and talking about life between takes. And little by little, I was feeling more and more about this person. So we finish the movie, and we say, Well, bye! I was starting a new movie, and I thought this was probably an illusion that was going to go away. But it didn't. We started calling each other, then we saw each other, and I realized I was in love." [GQ]

Although it seems to many he rushed pell-mell into the relationship, initially, Antonio was somewhat cautious. "I don't want to get married right away. I don't want to rush things. I want to take my time to see how my relationship with Melanie is going to work. If life is good to us, if we do something nice with our lives together, maybe people can say in three or four years, We're proud of you guys. You did it! Right now, it's nothing you can guarantee. We are moving our lives by feelings. And there isn't always the truth in feelings. But that's what I am now. There is no way that I can stop it or do anything else." [Movieline]

"I am passionate and generous, and sometimes I am too passionate and too generous. I fall in love with the whole thing," he says, indicating his entire body. "I don't have shields around. I am very much naked to everything I do in my life. And sometimes that can be strange. Sometimes the thing is just leading me along, and suddenly it's 'Oh my God, am I the only one loving this thing!' "-be it movie projects or relationships. But in Melanie's case, I think I put everything on the table before I took a position. It was meditated." [GQ]

While Antonio has always said that their falling in love was a gradual process, Melanie has admitted a number of times that for her at least it was "love at first sight". Only it was more like "third sight". On Entertainment Tonight, she claimed her only knowledge of him was from a photo of Antonio with some kids in Somalia. However, she had actually met Antonio two times before. She may have not recalled him, but Antonio certainly remembered her! Antonio met Melanie at the Oscars in 1989 and 1994. At the earlier ceremony, Banderas was introduced to her and he recalled for Cosmopolitan, November 1996, "She had on a white dress with pearls. " The second meeting was mentioned in Tan Solo un Actor. They shared a cigarette break along with Christian Slater. So why did these meetings register with Antonio but not with Melanie? Antonio was a fan of her movies, while Melanie had never seen any of Antonio's films.

"Melanie is the best thing that has ever happened to me. She has such a radiant energy, it just envelops me. I saw this incredible joy and openness in her and I knew I had to be with her.

At first I didn't think our affair would last more than a few weeks, but we found such joy in being together that we knew our relationship was going to last a long, long time. It was just very natural, very warm, very intense. I felt I had to spend every moment with her and she felt the same way about me. Sex was great, taking walks on the beach was great, everything was good. [OK]

VICTIMS OF PRESET OPINIONS

Looking back two years and more, it's hard to really comprehend the malice that greeted Antonio and Melanie's relationship by both media and many fans when it was revealed in May, 1995. First they were treated as a joke, then an annoyance. What is clear now is that attitudes were set, and only time could soften these emotions. Antonio, prior to meeting Melanie, was a big fan of her work. This we know from an old interview.

...In America, his favorite [actors] are Tom Cruise ('a very smart guy, who manages his career very cleverly'), and above all, Melanie Griffith, who makes him forgive all the political and cultural sins of the USA."

"...Melanie Griffith... His eyes sparks when he says her name. --1989 Spanish movie magazine interview with Antonio

---

However, the media viewed Melanie somewhat differently than Antonio. Their "fun" had a definite layer of malice beneath.:
"Hollywood's hot romance. His friends are so relieved. They were afraid he'd get involved with an actress." [Mullen Sheet -- from a list of ten, #2-- Entertainment Weekly, summer, 1995]

Let's just say here that it wasn't balanced, fair, unbiased reporting by any means. And somewhat surprising, the abuse was not limited to the tabloids. Steve Rubello in his Movieline article got off some one-liners such as "Maybe he'll bring off international stardom and a liaison with a woman you'd think twice about bringing home to mother. (Unless you were really, really pissed with mother.) " And Lucy Kaylin of GQ had her claws out when she dropped "How could this universal lust object fall for a bubbleheaded child of show business whose marital woes, rehab travails and cosmetic enhancements have proved a mother lode for the tabloids!"

What certainly has made an impression (and initially annoyed the media) is their obvious devotion to each other. In the summer of 1995, Hello! reported that Melanie had already expressed her willingness to live with Antonio in Spain. They do activities together -- jogging, bicycling, fun at the beach and sailing besides doing the obligatory premieres and charity functions. Antonio respects Melanie's opinions and seeks her advice.

Cristina: So [Melanie] also gave you good professional advice?
Antonio: Yes, yes, of course. Specifically in terms of comedies I believe that Melanie has been one of the most important actresses in Hollywood.

Cristina: So you admire her a lot as a professional.
Antonio: I don't think I would be able to have a relationship with a person I don't admire. (laughs) It sounds a bit heavy but it is so. [Dec., 1995 interview with Cristina]

Was he seduced by a larger-than-life American starlet, a perfect addition to his Hollywood success story?
"No," he says bluntly. "Yes, she is very pretty under my eyes. But I don't like perfection in women, perfect nose and teeth. . . . Look, my (first) marriage in a way was finished way before I met Melanie. For different circumstances, internal and outside. People don't have to know just what it was, but I didn't just dump (Leza) and say, 'OK, I'll take her (Griffith).' [GQ]

Continue to Melanie, Part 2