Antonio Banderas Returns to Malaga After 2017 Heart Attack

Antonio Banderas, the 65-year-old Spanish actor known for roles in films like The Mask of Zorro and Puss in Boots, has shared how a near-fatal heart attack in 2017 prompted him to leave Hollywood behind and return to his hometown of Málaga, Spain, reshaping his priorities toward family, theater, and cultural roots.

In a recent interview with The Times of London, Banderas described the medical emergency as a pivotal moment that forced him to reassess his fast-paced life. "Mine was a really serious warning," he said. "It changed the way I look at life." The incident, which occurred when he was 59, led him to quit smoking, sell his private jet, and relocate from homes in the United States and the United Kingdom to a flat in Málaga's historic center. He now lives there with his longtime girlfriend, Nicole Kimpel, whom he began dating in 2014 after his 2015 divorce from actress Melanie Griffith, with whom he shares a 29-year-old daughter, Stella.

Banderas began his career in Spain, making his screen debut in 1982's Labyrinth of Passion, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, and starring in four more of the auteur's films, including Matador in 1986. He viewed Hollywood as inaccessible to...