She was known to most people as Steve Nash’s wife. The two-time NBA MVP’s partner at ESPY Award red carpets. The woman whose name appeared in TMZ headlines when their marriage fell apart in 2010. But Alejandra Amarilla has spent years building a life and legacy that has absolutely nothing to do with basketball, and it’s a story worth telling properly.
Amarilla is a Paraguayan filmmaker, philanthropist, and activist whose documentary work has been covered by CNN, 60 Minutes, NPR, and the Huffington Post. She’s someone who turned a childhood spent crossing borders into a career built on giving voice to communities the world tends to forget. The Nash chapter of her life was real and messy, but it’s one chapter, not the whole book.
Here’s the full picture.
Who Is Alejandra Amarilla?
Amarilla was born in 1974 in Paraguay. After finishing high school, she attended the Universidad Americana de Paraguay, majoring in marketing and advertising.
Her father worked for the United Nations, which meant the family moved from country to country while she was growing up. This exposure to different cultures, traditions, and music shaped the person she became. Most kids would find that kind of constant relocation exhausting. Amarilla found it energising. “I loved traveling with my family growing up,” she said in a previous interview, describing herself as a “world citizen.”
That cosmopolitan upbringing fed directly into her career. She didn’t go to film school or come up through Hollywood. She came at storytelling from the angle of someone who genuinely cared about the communities she was documenting, and that’s exactly what made her work land.
Landfill Harmonic: The Film That Changed Everything
Landfill Harmonic is a 2015 documentary directed by Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley, with Alejandra Amarilla credited for the original story concept. It’s the project that put her name in front of a global audience and remains the defining work of her filmmaking career.
The process began in 2009 when Amarilla and producer Juliana Penaranda-Loftus traveled to Paraguay with the goal of creating a film about underserved children there. After a series of interviews, they discovered the deeply inspiring story of the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura.
The Recycled Orchestra of Cateura is made up of low-income young people who live in the Bañado Sur community located around the Cateura Landfill in Asunción, Paraguay. Their defining feature is performing classical music on instruments built from materials salvaged from the landfill itself. Think violins made from oil cans, cellos fashioned from cooking tools, flutes constructed from scrap piping.
In 2012, the producers posted a teaser on YouTube that spread around the world. “We never thought that we would get the response that we had,” said Amarilla. “We are helping to tell their story to the world, and it’s a privilege.”
The numbers back up the impact. The movie raised $214,000 and was featured on CNN, Fox News, NPR, 60 Minutes, and more. The Recycled Orchestra, largely unknown before the film, ended up touring internationally, including a memorable performance alongside heavy metal band Megadeth in the United States.
In the documentary, Amarilla reflected on what music had done for the children of Cateura: “Just by the way they talk, I can see this confidence, this new confidence I’ve never seen before.”
The film was produced through Meetai Films, Bella Voce Films, and Eureka Productions, and distributed by The Film Collaborative. It premiered at SXSW in March 2015 before receiving a wider Paraguayan release in August 2016. Amarilla had also previously worked as assistant director on the documentary Unleashing Creativity, so by the time Landfill Harmonic reached audiences, she had real experience behind her.
Steve Nash, Their Marriage, and a Divorce Nobody Saw Coming
Nash and Amarilla first met in 2001 when Nash was playing for the Dallas Mavericks. Amarilla had just completed her education in marketing and advertising. According to multiple sources, they met in Manhattan and eventually married in June 2005.
After tying the knot in 2005, the couple welcomed twin daughters, Lola and Bella. The family spent the offseasons in New York City and lived in Phoenix, Arizona, during the NBA season, where Nash played for the Suns.
The marriage looked solid from the outside. Nash was at the peak of his career, winning back-to-back MVP awards in 2005 and 2006. Amarilla was building her film career. They showed up to events together, seemed aligned in their values, and were frequently photographed as a couple at NBA functions.
Then came November 2010. Nash filed for divorce just hours after his son was born. In a statement, he wrote: “I am very thankful and excited that we have a new son, Matteo Nash. Alejandra and the baby are doing fine. But this is a bittersweet moment for my wife and I; after five years, we are now in the process of dissolving our marriage.”
The timing was shocking to the public. Nash later revealed they had been separated through much of the pregnancy, which explained some of the timeline, but it still made headlines around the world.
The Custody Battle and Legal Fight
What followed the divorce announcement was a prolonged legal dispute that dragged on for three years.
Amarilla’s request for child support was initially denied by an Arizona judge in 2011, with the reasoning that her income was equivalent to Nash’s income. Nash had argued in court that both parties were millionaires and that Amarilla had received a substantial divorce settlement.
Nash and Amarilla divorced in late 2011, and their settlement did not include child support. Nash was paying for the children’s private education and health insurance through his employer.
The dispute escalated when Amarilla wanted to relocate from Arizona to California with the three children. Nash protested, claiming that Los Angeles was not suitable for raising children, and some reports suggested he was also concerned about potential changes to child support obligations under California law.
An Arizona judge accepted a settlement between Nash and Amarilla on September 25, 2013, and ordered it sealed. The terms of the settlement have not been made public. What is known: Nash agreed to pay 90% of the medical, educational, and extracurricular activity expenses and 82% of the nanny’s salary.
It was a hard few years for both sides. After the legal battle concluded, Amarilla stepped away from the spotlight and focused on her children.
Where Is Alejandra Amarilla Now?
As of 2026, Alejandra lives a quiet life in Los Angeles with her kids. She has not remarried and keeps her personal life very private.
After her divorce from Nash, Amarilla shifted her focus to her career and philanthropic work. Her passion for social justice and cultural advocacy led her to become involved in several charitable organisations and initiatives, including work aimed at promoting women’s rights.
Her work with the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura is one example of her commitment to using art as a means of social change. She’s also been outspoken about raising her three children with the same global outlook she was given, travelling with them regularly and trying to give them exposure to different cultures.
Her net worth is estimated at around $1 million as of 2026, and she continues to focus on creative projects that centre on helping others.
Alejandra Amarilla at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
| Date of Birth | 1974 (exact date not public) |
| Place of Birth | Asunción, Paraguay |
| Education | Universidad Americana de Paraguay (Marketing & Advertising) |
| Career | Filmmaker, Executive Producer, Activist |
| Notable Work | Landfill Harmonic (2015), Unleashing Creativity |
| Former Spouse | Steve Nash (married 2005, divorced 2011) |
| Children | Twin daughters Lola and Bella (b. 2004), son Matteo (b. 2010) |
| Current Residence | Los Angeles, California |
| Estimated Net Worth (2026) | ~$1 million |
The Real Story
Alejandra Amarilla’s name pops up in searches because of Steve Nash. That’s just how the internet works when you’ve been married to a Hall of Fame basketball player. But spending five minutes actually looking at what she’s done makes it clear she didn’t need the association.
She took a marketing degree, a childhood spent crossing borders, and a genuine connection to her Paraguayan roots and built a documentary career that put kids from a garbage slum on stages around the world. She navigated one of the messiest public divorces of the 2010s while raising three children and continuing to produce meaningful work.
That’s not a footnote. That’s the headline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Alejandra Amarilla? Alejandra Amarilla is a Paraguayan-born filmmaker, activist, and philanthropist. She is best known publicly as the ex-wife of NBA star Steve Nash, but her own career as the executive producer and story concept creator behind the award-winning documentary Landfill Harmonic is what defines her professionally.
What documentary did Alejandra Amarilla make? Her most notable work is Landfill Harmonic (2015), a documentary about the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura in Paraguay, a youth orchestra that performs on instruments built from materials found in a garbage landfill. The film was featured on CNN, 60 Minutes, and NPR, and premiered at SXSW.
When did Steve Nash and Alejandra Amarilla get divorced? The couple separated in November 2010, the same day Nash announced the birth of their third child, Matteo. Their divorce was finalised in late 2011, and a custody settlement was reached in September 2013 in the Maricopa County Superior Court.
Do Steve Nash and Alejandra Amarilla have children together? Yes. They have three children: twin daughters Lola and Bella, born in 2004, and a son, Matteo, born in November 2010.
Where is Alejandra Amarilla now? As of 2026, she lives in Los Angeles, California. She has not remarried and continues to work on charitable and creative projects. She maintains a private personal life.
