Melanie Griffith: A Hollywood icon's journey through triumph and turmoil

For many, she remains an icon of the 1980s and 1990s. Melanie Griffith's life has been full of significant professional successes and dramatic setbacks. She has endured unsuccessful cosmetic surgeries, cancer, and yet another divorce. On 9 August 2024, she will celebrate her 67th birthday.

Melanie Griffith is an actress who has delighted audiences with her talent for decades, while the media have followed her every step with unrelenting fascination. She has played murderesses, women with troubled pasts, and America's sweethearts.

In 2018, reports surfaced that Griffith was battling a recurrence of skin cancer. She was first diagnosed in 2009. However, she managed to overcome the brutal fight against cancer.

She was born in 1957, the daughter of Tippi Hedren, a Hollywood icon known for Alfred Hitchcock’s films. As a child, she had access to the film world, which opened doors to her career and imposed enormous pressure on her. She appeared in her first film production at just the age of 12. By this age, she had already dreamed of a great career facilitated by her mother's connections. Her early debut was a prelude to the eventful journey she would experience in Hollywood.

Melanie Griffith's personal life was full of intense emotions from the start. At the tender age of 14, she met Don Johnson, a young actor with whom she had a passionate but tumultuous love affair. Two years later, she ran away from home to embark on a journey through life with him. Their marriage, while sincere, proved unstable. Their relationship was full of ups and downs, providing fodder for tabloids that breathlessly followed their breakups and reconciliations.

Following the dissolution of her marriage to Johnson, Griffith married actor Steven Bauer, with whom she had a son, Alexander. However, her problems with alcohol and drug addiction worsened, leading to the breakdown of her second marriage. In 1988, Griffith entered a rehab centre, but despite a brief improvement, her past demons were relentless.

After completing therapy, Griffith returned to Don Johnson, and they remarried. Their relationship lasted several years and resulted in the birth of Dakota Johnson, the future actress who gained fame from her role in "Fifty Shades of Grey". However, this marriage also ended in divorce in 1996.

It was Banderas who became her great love, about whom Griffith spoke fondly in numerous interviews. Their relationship was one of the most talked-about in Hollywood. Both faced criticism as their love blossomed while Banderas was still married to Ana Leza.

Griffith succumbed to another addiction - this time to numerous plastic surgeries in an attempt to preserve her youth. Unfortunately, these procedures failed to bring her the desired satisfaction and instead became another demon she had to confront. Banderas supported his beloved for a long time, but in 2015, their paths diverged, which was a huge blow for Griffith.

The divorce from Banderas marked a turning point in the actress's life. She decided to quit alcohol and smoking and regain control over her life.

Melanie Griffith recently appeared at a charity gala in Beverly Hills, where she and Demi Moore won the hearts of those in attendance. The event aimed to raise funds for cancer research.