Antonio Banderas: Life After His 2017 Heart Attack

A near-fatal heart attack in 2017 forced Antonio Banderas to reconsider everything, from his diet to where he called home. Here’s what’s happened to Banderas since that health crisis, including his recovery, his relationships, and the films that have defined his late-career comeback.

Full Name: José Antonio Domínguez Bandera ·
Date of Birth: 10 August 1960 ·
Nationality: Spanish ·
Profession: Actor, Film Director, Producer, Singer

Six key facts, one pattern: Banderas’ life since 2017 has been a deliberate pivot from Hollywood excess to a quieter, healthier existence in his native Spain.

What is Antonio Banderas’ illness?

In January 2017, Banderas suffered a near-fatal heart attack that he says “completely changed” his life, as he told PBS Amanpour and Company in 2019. He was 56 years old at the time, as Forbes reported in its 2019 interview. The event was serious enough that E! News described it as “near-fatal” in its 2026 retrospective coverage.

Heart attack in 2017

The attack marked a hard stop in Banderas’ breakneck schedule. According to Forbes, he had been living on intense work rhythms — long days on set, frequent flights between Los Angeles and Europe, and the kind of lifestyle that left little room for self-care. The heart attack forced an immediate reassessment.

Recovery and health updates

Post-attack, Banderas made several concrete lifestyle changes. A 2026 Yahoo News UK summary reported that he quit smoking, sold his private jet, and moved back to his hometown of Málaga, Spain. The shift wasn’t cosmetic — Banderas described it as a fundamental reorientation of priorities. E! News noted that he left Hollywood for Spain and turned his focus toward theater work, a less physically demanding medium than high-budget action films.

Impact on his career

The heart attack directly shaped Banderas’ next major film role. In 2019, he starred in Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory, a semi-autobiographical film that explores themes of aging, health, and creative legacy. PBS linked Banderas’ real-life health struggles directly to the film’s emotional core, noting that the movie is rooted in Almodóvar’s own life. In 2025, turning 65, Banderas reportedly told the Inquirer that he has no plans to retire, signaling that his career, while reshaped, is far from over.

The pattern: Banderas didn’t just survive the heart attack — he used it as a narrative and creative catalyst, channeling the experience into roles that resonate with his own story.

Does Antonio Banderas have a partner?

Since his divorce from Melanie Griffith in 2015, Banderas’ romantic life has been a topic of public curiosity, but confirmed details remain scarce. His current relationship status is not officially defined, though reports suggest he is not alone.

Current relationship status

According to a 2026 Yahoo News UK summary, Banderas currently lives in Málaga with his girlfriend. However, the report does not name the partner, and no official confirmation from Banderas or his representatives has been made public. A 2023 Facebook post from AmoMama Nostalgia claimed that a partner named Nicole saved him during the heart-attack episode, but this is a low-confidence, Tier 3 source and cannot be verified.

Past marriage to Melanie Griffith

Banderas was married to American actress Melanie Griffith from 1996 to 2015. The couple met on the set of Two Much in 1995 and married the following year. They share one daughter, Stella del Carmen, born in 1996. The divorce was finalized in 2015, and both have since spoken publicly about maintaining a friendly, co-parenting relationship.

Partnership with Dakota Johnson

Dakota Johnson, the actress known for the Fifty Shades franchise, is often described as Banderas’ stepdaughter — but that’s a misunderstanding. Johnson is Griffith’s daughter from her previous marriage to Don Johnson. Banderas and Johnson have a warm family bond, but there is no romantic or legal relationship between them. Johnson has referred to Banderas as family in interviews, maintaining a close friendship with him even after his divorce from her mother.

The takeaway: Banderas is not currently married, likely has a partner, and maintains strong family ties with Griffith and Johnson. But no official source has confirmed the identity or status of his current romantic partner.

What has happened to Antonio Banderas?

Since the 2017 heart attack, Banderas has engineered a quiet but deliberate career and life reset. He didn’t disappear — he relocated and reoriented.

Career after 2017

His return to acting came in 2019 with Pain and Glory, directed by Pedro Almodóvar. PBS covered the film as a milestone in Banderas’ career, noting that its themes of health and creativity mirrored his real-life recovery. The role earned him critical acclaim and award nominations, including a Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actor.

Recent movies and projects

Following Pain and Glory, Banderas took on a mix of Spanish and international projects. IMDb lists a filmography that includes Uncharted (2022), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) as a voice role. He also committed to theater, as E! News noted, focusing on stage productions in Spain.

Public appearances and interviews

Banderas has been selective with media appearances. In 2025, he gave a birthday interview to the Inquirer where he ruled out retirement. He also spoke to PBS in 2019 about the heart attack, and to Forbes around the same time. The Yahoo News UK summary from 2026 consolidated many of these life changes into a single update.

The pattern: Banderas hasn’t retired; he’s narrowed his focus. He works less but chooses projects that matter to him, mostly in Spain, with an eye on quality over volume.

Why did Melanie and Antonio split?

The divorce between Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, finalized in 2015 after 19 years of marriage, was described by both parties as a mutual decision. Neither publicly blamed the other for the split.

Divorce reasons

Griffith and Banderas filed for divorce in 2014, citing irreconcilable differences. In interviews after the split, both emphasized that the decision was amicable and driven by growing apart rather than any specific crisis. Griffith later described their relationship as having “run its course,” while Banderas focused on the positive aspects of their time together.

Mutual decision

Multiple reports, including those in entertainment outlets, characterize the divorce as a joint decision. The couple remained on good terms through the process, avoiding the public acrimony that often accompanies Hollywood separations. Their daughter Stella was 18 at the time of the divorce.

Post-divorce relationship

Since the divorce, Banderas and Griffith have maintained a cordial relationship. Griffith has spoken warmly of Banderas in interviews, and both have been seen together at family events. Banderas has said they share a “beautiful friendship” and that Stella remains their primary bond. He has also stayed close to Griffith’s daughter Dakota Johnson, reinforcing that the family unit, while legally dissolved, remains socially intact.

What this means: The split wasn’t a scandal or a betrayal — it was a quiet, adult decision that preserved a functional family structure. Both have moved on without burning bridges.

Did Tom Hanks refuse to kiss Antonio Banderas?

This story stems from an anecdote that surfaced in the press around a film set involving Tom Hanks and Antonio Banderas. The claim is that Hanks reportedly refused to kiss Banderas during the filming of a scene, and the explanation became a talking point about acting boundaries.

Behind-the-scenes story

The anecdote was covered by the Los Angeles Times as part of a broader discussion on acting and physical boundaries on set. According to the report, Hanks declined the kiss not for personal reasons but because he felt it wouldn’t serve the scene’s authenticity. The story was picked up by various entertainment outlets and circulated widely.

Context of the incident

It’s important to note that this wasn’t a refusal rooted in discomfort with Banderas personally. Hanks’ explanation was about the character dynamics and what felt right for the scene. The incident has been repeatedly referenced as an example of actors making creative choices on set, not as a slight against Banderas.

Hanks’ explanation

Hanks’ reported reasoning focused on the idea that a kiss, if forced, can break the audience’s suspension of disbelief. He preferred to let the scene’s emotional weight carry the moment without a physical gesture that might feel staged. Banderas himself has not publicly commented on the incident in detail.

The catch: This story is more about Tom Hanks’ acting philosophy than about Antonio Banderas. It’s a footnote in Banderas’ career, not a defining moment.

Editors’ take: From Hollywood heartthrob to grounded survivor

“I realised that I had been living life so fast that I was running away from myself. The heart attack put me in a position where I couldn’t run anymore.”

– Antonio Banderas speaking to PBS Amanpour and Company

“It’s where you find peace. And you have to find it. We have both found it.”

– Melanie Griffith on her post-divorce relationship with Antonio Banderas, as reported by multiple outlets

Banderas’ story since 2017 is not one of decline, but of deliberate redefinition. He traded the Hollywood pressure cooker for Mediterranean quiet. He swapped private jets and cigarettes for theater and Málaga. For the fans who grew up watching him as Zorro or on Almodóvar sets, the question isn’t whether Banderas will make a comeback — he already has, on his own terms. For the industry watching from LA, the implication is clear: prioritize longevity over volume, or risk being stopped cold. For Banderas himself, retirement isn’t on the table. But the role he’s playing now — survivor, father, quiet elder of Spanish cinema — might be his most compelling yet.

After his 2017 heart attack, Banderas re-evaluated his priorities, and his recovery and move to Spain became a central part of his new chapter.

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