Anthony Hopkins made history earlier this month when he became the oldest Academy Award nominee for Best Actor. The accomplished 83-year-old, who’s up for an Oscar for his role in the film The Father, has had a long and memorable career filled with iconic characters, including the notorious Hannibal Lecter. He’s also had a tumultuous love life and three different wives. So who is Anthony Hopkins’ spouse now? Here, we take a deep dive into the life of Stella Arroyave, Anthony Hopkins’ wife.
Anthony Hopkins Has Been Married Three Separate Times
In 1966, Hopkins married actress Petronella Barker. Born in the UK, she’s appeared in a number of European TV shows and mini-series, including Fox Grønland, Kodenavn Hunter, Rekyl, and Neste Sommer. Parker and Hopkins had one child together, Abigail, who was born in 1968. The couple divorced a few years later, in 1973, and Hopkins says he is now estranged from his daughter, whom he hasn’t seen in more than 20 years.
Hopkins’ second spouse was a film production assistant named Jennifer Lynton. Reportedly, she began an affair with the Nixon star in 1972, while he was still married to Petronella Barker. The couple married on January 13th, 1973, and were together for more than 25 years. But despite their long marriage, the couple spent a good deal of time apart, particularly once Hopkins hit it big in Hollywood in the early ‘90s. Some people speculate it was Hopkins’s desire to live in the U.S permanently that ultimately ended their marriage. The couple finalized their divorce in 2002.
Who Is Stella Arroyave?
Born in Popayán, Colombia, on March 20, 1956, Stella Arroyave (who also goes by Stella Hopkins) is an actress, director, and screenwriter. Before meeting her famous husband, she was an art dealer in Colombia who eventually moved to Los Angeles to open her own antique shop.
She met Anthony Hopkins in 2001 when he walked into her store while furniture shopping. Once she and Hopkins hooked up, Arroyave decided to try her hand at acting and appeared in a number of movies, including The Human Stain (which starred Hopkins and Nicole Kidman) and Slipstream. The pair tied the knot in 2003.
Stella Hopkins Just Made Her Directorial Debut
Recently, Stella Arroyave made her directorial debut with the 2020 indie film Elyse. Shot partially in black and white, the movie tells the story of a catatonic woman afflicted with mental illness. Arroyave also wrote the screenplay and cast Anthony Hopkins in a starring role. So what was it like to direct her superstar husband?
“He’s a consummate professional,” she said in a recent interview with Variety. “He treated the set and me and the actors as he treated any other film production. He knew his lines and asked me what I thought and we had a few good exchanges and ideas.”
Arroyave also says she has her husband to thank for helping get the film off the ground, as it was financed by the company she runs with him. “We have a very successful art company called Margam Fine Art,” she explained to Variety. “I knew I couldn’t go crazy. I shot the film in 13 days, which most people said is impossible. It’s completely a union film. I stuck to my budget.”
Anthony Hopkins Clearly Credits Stella For A Lot
When Hopkins met Arroyave, he was going through a rough period in his life and credits his wife with helping him come out of his depression. In a 2012 interview with Evening Standard, the Red Dragon star said: “She met me ten years ago when I was shut down. Shut down for some years…I was dealing with slight depression. Not trusting anyone. Certainly not trusting women.”
“I married a remarkable woman who has changed a lot of my perceptions about myself and life,” he continued. “She’s very positive, very powerful. As a young man, I’d get angry at every little thing. Now I’m married to a woman who hates quarrels, so we don’t do that.'”
Hopkins, who recently celebrated 45 years of sobriety by posting an emotional video to his Twitter feed, also says his wife has helped him change his perspective on life. “Every day she wakes up happy. She’s very positive about everything,” he said. “I learned from her just to take life as it comes. So I live my life in non-expectation.”
We’re glad to know Arroyave is looking out for this talented and beloved actor!