In 1998, Banderas won critical and popular acclaim for his portrayal of Zorro in the swashbuckling hit The Mask of Zorro (1998), with Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones. His 1999 projects included the disappointing Michael Crichton thriller The 13th Warrior and Play it to the Bone, costarring Woody Harrelson and Lucy Liu. In late 2000, he stars opposite Angelina Jolie in the steamy romance Original Sin. Banderas' first wife was the actress Ana Leza, who appeared with him in Philadelphia (1993). After eight years of marriage, they separated in 1995 and divorced in 1996.

  Banderas met his second wife, actress Melanie Griffith, on the set of Two Much in January, 1995. They married in London on May 14, 1996 and had a daughter, Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith, on September 24, 1996. The two reunited for Crazy in Alabama (1999), which marked Banderas' directorial debut. Well established as a hearthrob and a talented dramatic actor by the end of the 1990s, the fact that Desperato director Robert Rodriguez was the only director to have expolored Banderas' comic potential (Banderas provided one of the few memorable performances in Rodriguez's segment of the otherwise abysmal Four Rooms (1995)) hinted at a heretofore unexplored but potentially lucrative territory for the actor. Later approached by Rodriguez to portray the super-spy patriarch in the /family oriented adventure /comedy Spy Kids (2001), Banderas charmed children and adults alike with his role as a kidnapped agent whose children must discover their inner stregnth in order to rescue their mother and father. After reprising his role in the following year's Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams, Banderas would next return to more adult oriented roles in both Brian DePalma's Femme Fatale and the ill-fated Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (both 2002). After essaying a more historic role in the dramatic biopic Frida (also 2002), the remarkably diverse actor would one again team with Rodriguez for the sprawling Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003).

Spirit Antonio Banderas by Antonio Banderas. After becoming a hit in Europe, this standout among celebrity launches was introduced in 2004 in the United States. It bespeaks confidence and charisma with hints of vanilla, cinnamon bark, orange tree leaves and sandalwood.