Ana Leza is best known as the first wife of Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, but her story did not begin—or end—with their marriage. Born Ana Arana Leza in Madrid, she came from an acting family, pursued acting herself, and was beside Banderas during the years when he was moving from Spanish cinema toward an international career. IMDb records her work in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, El placer de matar, and Of Love and Shadows.
Ana and Banderas married on July 27, 1987, and divorced in 1996. During those years, she reportedly played an important practical role as he tried to break into English-language cinema, helping him with English and early Hollywood scripts. Spanish public broadcaster RTVE has highlighted Banderas’ own acknowledgment that her help mattered during that transition.
After the divorce, Ana largely moved away from celebrity life. She later married Dharma Villareal in 2000, and current IMDb records still list that marriage as ongoing.
Who Is Ana Leza?
Ana Leza is a Spanish former actress whose birth name is Ana Arana Leza.
She was born in Madrid, Spain. Her exact birthday is less firmly documented by major biographical sources, although some reference material places her birth in 1962. IMDb does not currently provide an exact date and simply identifies Madrid as her birthplace.
Ana grew up close to acting.
Her mother was Spanish actress Concha Leza, which meant performance was already part of her family environment before Ana developed her own screen career. IMDb specifically identifies Ana as Concha Leza’s daughter.
That background is important because Ana should not be described simply as a woman who became famous after marrying an actor.
She was an actress herself.
Who Was Ana Leza’s Mother?
Ana’s mother, Concha Leza, worked professionally as an actress.
This gave Ana an early connection with Spanish theater, television, and cinema.
However, reliable English-language information about Ana’s father, childhood home, and education is limited.
Rather than filling those gaps with repeated claims from small celebrity sites, the more accurate picture is that Ana came from an acting family in Madrid and later followed that creative path herself.
Her mother’s profession also helps explain why Ana was comfortable in the artistic circles where she eventually met Banderas.
How Did Ana Leza Meet Antonio Banderas?
A detailed 2025 retrospective from Spanish television outlet Divinity says Ana and Antonio met in Madrid in January 1987.
According to that account, the meeting happened at a bar on Calle de las Infantas. Banderas was 26 and already part of the energetic Madrid acting scene associated with the cultural movement known as La Movida.
Their relationship developed quickly.
They married later that same year.
This was well before Banderas became the internationally recognized star of Desperado, The Mask of Zorro, Evita, and Spy Kids.
Ana therefore knew a very different version of Antonio Banderas—the Spanish actor who was successful at home but had not yet conquered Hollywood.
When Did Ana Leza Marry Antonio Banderas?
Ana and Antonio married on July 27, 1987.
IMDb records the ceremony as taking place at the Church of San Nicolás in Madrid.
The guest list reflected the world in which they were living.
Actress Carmen Maura attended.
So did filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar.
Almodóvar was already becoming enormously important to Banderas’ career.
Banderas had appeared in several of his films, and their creative relationship would become one of the defining partnerships in modern Spanish cinema.
Ana was therefore present during a critical period—not after the international success arrived, but while that career was still being built.
How Did Ana Leza Help Antonio Banderas Learn English?
This is one of the most important parts of Ana’s story.
When Banderas first began seriously pursuing work in the United States, his English was limited.
RTVE reports that Ana helped him learn the language and supported him during his early attempts to enter Hollywood. Banderas himself later acknowledged the importance of that help.
Spanish magazine ¡HOLA! similarly reports that Ana helped him with English and translated early scripts that reached him from Hollywood.
This happened at exactly the right moment.
Banderas had talent and success in Spain.
But an international career required something else.
He needed to communicate with American agents.
Understand scripts.
Prepare auditions.
And eventually perform convincingly in English.
Ana helped bridge that gap.
A useful related article would be how Antonio Banderas went from Pedro Almodóvar films in Spain to becoming a Hollywood star.
Did Ana Leza Help Banderas Get His Hollywood Break?
It would be too strong to say Ana single-handedly created his Hollywood career.
Banderas’ acting ability, Spanish film success, industry contacts, and determination were all essential.
But her contribution appears to have been meaningful.
RTVE recounts how Banderas traveled to Los Angeles around the time Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown was receiving international attention. His limited English made early professional meetings difficult.
Ana’s language help made it easier for him to navigate this new environment.
This is why reducing her to “Antonio Banderas’ ex-wife” misses an important part of their history.
She was his partner during the transition.
Was Ana Leza an Actress?
Yes.
Ana had a genuine acting career, although it was much smaller than Banderas’ later career.
IMDb lists her appearances in Spanish television and cinema beginning in the 1980s.
Her credits include Teresa de Jesús in 1984, Fragmentos de interior in 1984, Lorca, muerte de un poeta in 1987, El placer de matar in 1988, and an episode of La mujer de tu vida.
She also appeared in one of the most famous Spanish films of the era.
Was Ana Leza in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown?
Yes.
Ana appeared in Pedro Almodóvar’s 1988 film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.
IMDb credits her simply as Ana.
The movie became internationally successful and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
Banderas was also in the movie.
That makes the film an interesting piece of their shared history.
Ana was not simply standing beside her husband while his career developed.
For a time, both were appearing in the same Spanish filmmaking world.
What Other Movies Did Ana Leza Make?
One of her later recognizable credits was Of Love and Shadows.
IMDb lists her as playing Evangelina, credited under the name Anita Lesa.
The movie starred Antonio Banderas and Jennifer Connelly.
She also had a small connection with Philadelphia, the acclaimed Tom Hanks drama in which Banderas played Miguel Álvarez. ¡HOLA! reports that Ana made a small cameo in the film.
Her acting career never reached the scale of her former husband’s.
But the available credits clearly show that she worked professionally rather than simply being associated with the industry through marriage.
Why Did Ana Leza and Antonio Banderas Separate?
Their relationship began breaking down in the mid-1990s.
In May 1995, El País reported that Banderas and Ana were separating amid widespread reports that he had begun a relationship with American actress Melanie Griffith after working with her on Two Much.
There is an important distinction here.
Banderas has maintained that problems in his marriage to Ana existed before his relationship with Griffith and that Griffith was not the original cause of the breakup.
That makes it inappropriate to reduce the divorce to one simple explanation.
The established timeline is clearer than the private reasons.
Ana and Antonio separated in 1995.
Their divorce was completed in 1996.
Banderas then married Griffith.
When Did Ana Leza and Antonio Banderas Divorce?
The divorce was finalized in 1996.
IMDb lists their marriage from July 27, 1987, until 1996.
Contemporary and later reports place their separation in 1995, while India Today reported that the divorce was finalized in April 1996.
Only about a month later, on May 14, Banderas married Melanie Griffith in London.
Ana and Banderas had been married for roughly nine years.
Did Ana Leza and Antonio Banderas Have Children?
No publicly documented children were born from their marriage.
Banderas later became a father during his marriage to Melanie Griffith.
Their daughter, Stella del Carmen Banderas, was born in September 1996.
Ana later created a new family after remarrying.
Some Spanish reporting says she and her second husband have two children, although details about them remain private.
Because those children are not public figures, there is little reason to speculate about their lives.
Was Ana Leza’s Divorce Settlement Expensive?
Spanish media have described the settlement as substantial.
¡HOLA! reported that Ana received a Madrid property valued at about €3.4 million, temporary monthly payments, and a share of earnings from films Banderas made during part of their marriage.
These figures come from media reporting rather than publicly reproduced complete settlement documents, so they are best described as reported terms rather than treated as independently audited financial facts.
The larger point is easier to establish.
Ana had been Banderas’ spouse through important earning years and during the period when his international career was developing.
Their financial separation therefore became more complicated than a simple breakup between two young actors.
Did Ana Leza Continue Acting After the Divorce?
Not for long.
¡HOLA! reports that after beginning her second marriage, Ana chose to leave acting behind.
IMDb’s credits also show that most of her known screen work belongs to the 1980s and 1990s.
There is no strong evidence of a major return to acting in recent years.
That appears to have been a deliberate change in direction.
Instead of attempting to use her connection to Banderas to remain famous, Ana increasingly stepped away from public entertainment life.
Who Is Ana Leza’s Second Husband?
Ana remarried on November 26, 2000.
IMDb identifies her husband as Dharma Villareal and continues to list their marriage as ongoing.
Some Spanish coverage refers to him as Christopher Lee Villareal and describes him as an American connected with audiovisual production.
The wedding represented a major new chapter for Ana.
By then, Banderas had been married to Melanie Griffith for several years and had firmly established himself in Hollywood.
Ana was moving in another direction.
Did Carmen Maura Attend Ana Leza’s Second Wedding?
Yes, according to ¡HOLA!.
The magazine reported that Carmen Maura played an important role at Ana’s civil wedding to Villareal in 2000.
This is an interesting connection because Maura had also attended Ana’s first wedding to Banderas.
Ana and Maura had worked within the same Spanish film circles, including projects connected with Pedro Almodóvar.
It shows that some of Ana’s friendships from her acting years continued after she stepped away from the industry.
Does Ana Leza Have Children With Dharma Villareal?
Spanish reference material reports that Ana and Dharma have two children.
However, the family has maintained significant privacy.
Their children have not been turned into public personalities simply because Ana was once married to a famous actor.
That privacy should be respected.
The safest point is that Ana appears to have built a new family life after her first marriage ended.
Where Does Ana Leza Live Now?
Reports about Ana’s post-Hollywood life have placed her in the United States for substantial periods, but her exact current residence should not be stated without reliable, recent confirmation.
She has intentionally maintained a much quieter public life.
That is perhaps the biggest difference between Ana’s life and Banderas’ life after their divorce.
His fame continued growing.
Hers largely disappeared by choice.
He became Zorro.
He appeared in Evita, Desperado, Spy Kids, Shrek, Puss in Boots, and many other international productions.
Ana moved away from acting and celebrity reporting.
Their lives went in very different directions.
Did Ana Leza Ever Remarry?
Yes.
Her marriage to Dharma Villareal began on November 26, 2000, and IMDb still lists the marriage as continuing.
As of 2026, that means their marriage has lasted more than 25 years.
There is no credible current report of a divorce between them.
This second marriage has actually lasted far longer than Ana’s marriage to Banderas.
Yet it receives much less attention because Ana and Dharma have chosen a far more private lifestyle.
Is Ana Leza Still Acting in 2026?
There is no evidence that Ana is currently maintaining an active mainstream acting career.
Her best-known credits remain projects from the 1980s and 1990s.
That does not erase her earlier work.
She was part of an important period in Spanish cinema and appeared in a film that became internationally celebrated.
But acting appears to belong mainly to an earlier chapter of her life.
What Is Ana Leza’s Net Worth?
Ana Leza’s current personal net worth has not been reliably verified.
Various celebrity websites publish figures, but there is no strong financial documentation supporting a precise number.
Her divorce from Banderas reportedly involved significant financial terms.
That still does not allow anyone to calculate her finances decades later.
Money changes.
Property is bought and sold.
Investments rise and fall.
People earn and spend.
Without current financial records, any exact net-worth figure would be speculation.
What Is Ana Leza Doing Now?
Ana appears to remain largely outside the entertainment spotlight.
Current IMDb information still lists her as married to Dharma Villareal, while her professional page continues to focus almost entirely on her earlier acting career.
That quiet life is consistent with the path she took after her second marriage.
She has not tried to become a reality-TV personality.
She has not built a public identity around being Banderas’ former wife.
And she rarely appears in mainstream celebrity interviews.
Her name usually returns to the news when Spanish media revisit the early years of Antonio Banderas’ life.
Why Is Ana Leza Still Important to Antonio Banderas’ Story?
Because she was there before Hollywood changed everything.
Ana knew Banderas when his world was centered on Spanish theater and cinema.
She married him in 1987.
She appeared in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown during the same period.
She helped him with English when Hollywood became a realistic possibility.
And she remained his wife through his first major transition into American cinema.
The marriage did not last.
But its ending does not erase the role Ana played during those formative years.
A useful related article would be Antonio Banderas’ marriages, daughter Stella, and relationships away from the screen.
Interesting Facts About Ana Leza
Ana’s birth name is Ana Arana Leza, and she was born in Madrid. Her mother, Concha Leza, was also an actress.
She married Antonio Banderas at Madrid’s Church of San Nicolás on July 27, 1987, with Pedro Almodóvar and Carmen Maura among the attendees.
Ana appeared in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, one of the most internationally celebrated Spanish films of the late 1980s.
She helped Banderas with English and early Hollywood scripts while he was trying to establish himself in the United States.
Their marriage ended in divorce in 1996.
Ana remarried Dharma Villareal on November 26, 2000, and current IMDb records still list them as married.
After her second marriage, she largely stepped away from acting and public celebrity life.
Final Thoughts
Ana Leza is usually remembered because she was Antonio Banderas’ first wife.
But that label tells only part of the story.
Ana came from an acting family.
She became an actress herself.
She worked in Spanish film and television.
And she entered Banderas’ life before his name carried the international recognition it has today.
Their marriage began in 1987, during an exciting period for Spanish cinema.
Then Hollywood began calling.
For Banderas, language was a serious obstacle.
Ana helped.
She worked with his English and helped him understand scripts arriving from the United States. Spanish reporting has preserved Banderas’ acknowledgment that this support mattered to his early Hollywood transition.
Eventually, their relationship changed.
They separated in 1995 and divorced in 1996, during the period when Banderas became involved with Melanie Griffith. Contemporary reporting documented the separation and intense public interest surrounding it.
Afterward, their lives moved in almost opposite directions.
Banderas became an even bigger international star.
Ana stepped away.
She remarried in 2000 and largely left acting and celebrity culture behind. More than 25 years later, IMDb continues to list her marriage to Dharma Villareal as ongoing.
That may be the most revealing part of Ana Leza’s story.
She had access to fame.
She experienced the beginning of a major Hollywood career from inside the marriage.
Yet after that marriage ended, she did not spend decades trying to remain attached publicly to her former husband.
Instead, she built another life.
And while Antonio Banderas’ later success belongs to him, Ana’s contribution during those difficult early international years deserves to remain part of the story.
For more carefully researched celebrity biographies and family stories, visit Charles Magazine.
FAQs About Ana Leza
Who is Ana Leza?
Ana Leza is a Spanish former actress and the first wife of Antonio Banderas. Her birth name is Ana Arana Leza, and she appeared in films and television during the 1980s and 1990s.
When did Ana Leza marry Antonio Banderas?
Ana and Banderas married on July 27, 1987, at the Church of San Nicolás in Madrid.
Did Ana Leza help Antonio Banderas learn English?
Yes. Spanish sources report that Ana helped Banderas learn English and translated or helped him understand scripts during his early move toward Hollywood.
Was Ana Leza an actress?
Yes. Her credits include Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, El placer de matar, Teresa de Jesús, and Of Love and Shadows.
Did Ana Leza and Antonio Banderas have children?
There are no publicly documented children from their marriage. Banderas later had daughter Stella with his second wife, Melanie Griffith.
When did Ana Leza and Antonio Banderas divorce?
They separated in 1995 and finalized their divorce in 1996.
Who is Ana Leza married to now?
Ana married Dharma Villareal on November 26, 2000. Current IMDb records continue to list them as married.
What is Ana Leza doing now?
Ana has largely withdrawn from acting and public celebrity life. Reliable current information about her daily activities is limited, but she remains publicly listed as married to Dharma Villareal and has not made a major return to acting.
