Who Is Lourdes Leon's Father?

Lourdes Leon was born into the spotlight. After all, her mother is the "Queen of Pop," Madonna. In recent years, Lourdes has been making a number of public appearances and has started to form a career of her own. While she's primarily known for being Madonna's daughter, that might soon be changing. With that being said, who is her father? And what is he up to now?

As noted by The Sun, Lourdes' dad, Carlos Leon is of Cuban descent, and first came face-to-face with her mom in 1994 while in New York. Carlos is eight years younger than Madonna and was rumored to be engaged to the "Material Girl" hitmaker in the '90s. However, this has never been confirmed. Madonna and Carlos' relationship lasted three years and came to an end soon after Madonna gave birth to Lourdes in October 1996. According to The Focus, despite the duo ending their romance, they still lived together for a period after their daughter was born.

As of 2021, Madonna's net worth is an impressive $850 million. Carlos, on the other hand, is worth a respectable $5 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. Since his relationship with Madonna, Carlos has remained fairly low-profile but still managed to remain a wealthy millionaire. Keep reading to find out how.

Carlos Leon ventured into acting full-time after dating Madonna

When Madonna first started dating Carlos Leon, he was a personal trainer and not a regular face on the big screen or television. However, things started to change once he formed a romance with the iconic entertainer. As noted by his IMDb page, he made his acting debut in the television series "Nash Bridges" in 1996 and appear in three episodes. After splitting with Madonna in 1997, soon after she gave birth to their daughter Lourdes Leon, he went on to pursue acting full-time and starred in a number of movies, such as "The Replacement Killers," "Empire," "Tio Papi," to name a few.

Outside of movies, Carlos has also made appearances in many high-profile television shows from "Ugly Betty" to "Law & Order" and has even performed on Broadway in plays such as "Aunt Dan and Lemon" and "The Threepenny Opera." As of this writing, Carlos' last acting role was in 2019 when portraying Ranger in "Clinton Road." In 2008, he won an Angel Film Award at the Monaco International Film Festival for Best Supporting Male Actor for his part in "Tricks of a Woman."

According to The Focus, Carlos has continued to work in fitness and set up his own studio, Belleon Body, with fellow celebrity personal trainer Jeff Bell in 2017. On a personal level, however, Carlos has gotten re-married and started a family of his own with his second wife. Keep reading to find out more.

Carlos Leon is now married to Danish model Betina Holte

It appears Carlos Leon likes to keep his personal life as private as possible. With that being said, what we do know is that he has tied the knot once again since splitting with Madonna. As noted by The Focus, the actor and personal trainer got re-married to Zac Posen designer and former Danish model Betina Holte in July 2013 at a private ceremony in Gillelje, Denmark. Like Carlos, Holte has a history of dating a high-profile celebrity, as she previously had a romance with Jim Carrey in 2003, which reportedly lasted less than a year.

Carlos' daughter, Lourdes Leon, reportedly attended his wedding to Holte, though Madonna did not, according to The Sun. Since re-marrying, Carlos and Holte have started a family of their own. In 2015, they welcomed a son, Meeka Leon.

Many have wondered over the years how close Lourdes is to her father, as they both enjoy maintaining a low profile. In a May 2021 feature with Vanity Fair, the model called her dad a "fitness guru" and talked about visiting his home country of Cuba, so it seems like they have a sweet relationship.