After his harrowing health scare in 2017, the actor decided to move back to Málaga, Spain and return to his roots
Credit: Daniele Venturelli/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Antonio Banderas moved back to Málaga, Spain, after a heart attack in 2017, which shifted his perspective on life
- He now owns a theatre in Málaga, which helps him focus on his passion for acting while reconnecting with his Spanish roots
- The actor lives in his hometown with girlfriend Nicole Kimpel and remains close with his daughter, Stella, and stepdaughter, Dakota Johnson
Antonio Banderas has no regrets when it comes to his decision to leave Hollywood behind and return to his home city in Spain.
The Babygirl actor, 65, first put down roots in Hollywood following his breakout role in the Spanish film, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, in 1988. After living there for decades, he suffered a heart attack that made him question everything in 2017, he explained to The Times in an interview published on Wednesday, March 25.
His harrowing health scare served as “a really serious warning,” he told the outlet. “It changed the way I look at life.”
At the time, he was splitting time between the U.S. and the U.K., but his new outlook on life sparked a strong desire to move back to his home city of Málaga, Spain and return to his roots as a theatre actor, he explained.
Credit: Juan Naharro Gimenez/Getty
He did just that, selling his private jet and making lifestyle changes like quitting smoking, according to the outlet. He also bought a theatre, adding that, “Faced with death, it made me look back and realize that I am, in fact, a theatre actor.”
His theatre, Teatro del Soho, fulfills his passions in a way that Hollywood never did: “I have never been so happy,” he added of his new life.
“It keeps me in touch with my roots, my neighborhood, my people,” he shared. “I haven’t lost that connection over the years. Quite the opposite.”
Banderas currently lives in the city’s historic center with his longtime girlfriend Nicole Kimpel, who he started dating in 2014 following his divorce from Melanie Griffith.
Reflecting on the earlier years in his career and his “big leap to Hollywood,” he noted some of the challenges he faced as many opportunities had been “off limits to Spaniards” at the time, he said.
View this post on Instagram
“I didn’t speak English, but little by little I made a career for myself there. I later married an American woman and my life changed, my insecurities disappeared,” Banderas explained, referring to Griffith, 68.
During his 18-year marriage to the Working Girl actress, the couple welcomed daughter Stella Banderas, now 29. He is also stepdad to actress Dakota Johnson, 36, with whom he still has a close relationship.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Credit: Michael Caulfield/WireImage for Sony Pictures-Los Angeles
During an exclusive interview with PEOPLE published in February 2025, The Mask of Zorro star expressed his excitement over Stella’s engagement to entrepreneur Alex Gruszynski and their upcoming wedding at the time, which was later celebrated in Spain in October 2025.
"It's just great. I feel great for her," Antonio said of his daughter’s soon-to-be married status at the time.
"The only thing that I want if my daughter got into a relationship and now into a marriage is that she's loved. Everything else is I don't care," he continued. "And she is loved and I love the man that she decided to get married with. So I am very, very happy for both of them."
Read the full article here
