Johnny Depp Biography, Career, Net Worth, And Other Interesting Facts

Johnny Depp is a famous American actor and musician born on June 9, 1963. He’s won many awards like the Golden Globe and got nominated for Oscars and BAFTA awards multiple times. His movies where he often plays unique characters have made over $8 billion worldwide making him one of the most successful actors in Hollywood.

Depp started as a musician in rock bands before moving to movies. He first appeared in the horror movie A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984 and later in Platoon in 1986. But the TV show 21 Jump Street from 1987 to 1990 made him a teenage heartthrob. He’s worked in indie films with famous directors like Cry-Baby (1990), What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), and Donnie Brasco (1997).

He also tried his hand at directing with The Brave in 1997. Depp is well-known for his collaborations with director Tim Burton in movies like Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).

His biggest role was Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series (2003–2017), earning him worldwide fame. He’s also been praised for his roles in Chocolat (2000) and Finding Neverland (2004). Some other notable movies he’s been in include Public Enemies (2009) and Black Mass (2015).

Depp was married to Amber Heard from 2015 to 2017, which ended in a highly publicized divorce with allegations of abuse from both sides. They were involved in legal battles over defamation.

Outside of acting Depp has his own film production company and is part of the rock band Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry. He’s also a father of two children with his ex-partner Vanessa Paradis, including the actress Lily-Rose Depp.

Johnny Depp’s Early Life and Education

Johnny Depp was born on June 9, 1963, in Owensboro, Kentucky. He’s the youngest of four kids. His mom Betty Sue Depp worked as a waitress and his dad John Christopher Depp was a civil engineer. Johnny’s family moved around a lot when he was a kid, but they settled in Miramar, Florida, in 1970. In 1978, When he was 15 his parents split up and his mom later remarried Robert Palmer.

At 12, Johnny got a guitar from his mom and started playing in bands. He left high school at 16 to pursue music full-time. Even though he tried to go back his principal encouraged him to stick with music. In 1980, he joined a band called The Kids which later became Six Gun Method. They moved to LA to try to get a record deal but split up before it happened. Johnny then worked various jobs and got married to a makeup artist named Lori Anne Allison. They divorced in 1985.

Johnny’s ancestry is mainly English, with some French, German, Irish, and African American roots. He claims to have Native American heritage from his great-grandmother but some Native American groups doubt his claims. Despite this, he was adopted as an honorary member of the Comanche Nation during the promotion of “The Lone Ranger.”

His portrayal of Native American characters and his band’s name have faced criticism for cultural insensitivity. An advertisement featuring him and Native American imagery was pulled in 2019 due to accusations of cultural appropriation and racism.

Career

1984–1989: Early roles and 21 Jump Street

Johnny Depp’s journey into acting started unexpectedly. He moved to Los Angeles with his band when he was 20 years old. But when the band broke up his then-wife introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage. Cage, who became his drinking buddy encouraged him to give acting a shot. Even though Depp hadn’t thought about acting seriously, he was intrigued after reading about James Dean and watching Rebel Without a Cause.

Thanks to Cage’s help, Depp got an audition for a movie called A Nightmare on Elm Street, even though he had zero acting experience. Surprisingly he got the part playing the boyfriend of the main character who falls victim to Freddy Krueger.

Even though Depp didn’t plan on becoming an actor he kept getting roles in movies. These gigs helped pay the bills that his music career couldn’t cover. He starred in a few films including a comedy called Private Resort and a minor role in Oliver Stone’s Platoon.

But it was his role as an undercover cop in the TV show 21 Jump Street that made him famous. Even though he became a teen idol because of the show Depp felt like it pigeonholed him into being just a product.

1990–2002: Independent films and early collaborations with Tim Burton

Johnny Depp’s career took a turn after his stint as a teenage heartthrob in 21 Jump Street. Instead of chasing box office hits he opted for roles that intrigued him. In 1990, he starred in John Waters’s Cry-Baby, a quirky musical comedy set in the 1950s which didn’t do well initially but later gained a cult following.

The same year he mesmerized audiences as Edward Scissorhands in Tim Burton’s fantasy film a role that earned him critical acclaim and his first Golden Globe nomination. Depp’s dedication to the character included studying Charlie Chaplin’s silent films.

Over the next few years, Depp showcased his versatility. In 1993’s Benny and Joon he played an eccentric film buff earning him another Golden Globe nomination. He then starred in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Arizona Dream both receiving positive reviews.

The following year he portrayed the titular character in Ed Wood which despite not being a commercial success showcased his acting prowess and earned him another Golden Globe nomination.

Depp continued his streak with diverse roles in films like Don Juan DeMarco, Dead Man, and Nick of Time. In 1997, he delivered a stellar performance in Donnie Brasco alongside Al Pacino. The crime drama was a hit both commercially and critically. That same year Depp made his directorial debut with The Brave which didn’t fare well with critics.

Throughout the late ’90s, Depp took on challenging roles including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Ninth Gate. He also starred in Sleepy Hollow a commercial and critical success. In the new millennium Depp’s films varied in reception. Some like Sleepy Hollow were hits while others like The Astronaut’s Wife fell short.

Depp’s dedication to his craft remained evident in his portrayals of real-life figures in Blow and From Hell. While Blow didn’t meet box office expectations From Hell was moderately successful. Despite mixed reviews for some of his projects Depp’s talent and commitment to his roles continued to shine through.

2003–2011: Pirates of the Caribbean and Box Office success

In 2003, Johnny Depp became famous for his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He was nominated for awards and won a Screen Actor’s Guild Award for his performance. Depp based his character on Keith Richards and Pepé Le Pew. Initially, some people doubted his portrayal, but audiences loved it.

In the same year, he played a corrupt CIA agent in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, which did okay at the box office. Then, he starred in Secret Window, where he played a writer facing challenges. It did alright commercially but got mixed reviews.

Another film The Libertine didn’t do so well. But Finding Neverland, where he played J. M. Barrie got good reviews and earned him award nominations. He also appeared briefly in Happily Ever After and started his own film company, Infinitum Nihil.

Depp continued his success with roles like Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and voicing characters in Corpse Bride and the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels. Audiences loved him as Jack Sparrow.

In 2007, he worked with Tim Burton again in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street where he sang for the first time in a film. He won a Golden Globe for his performance.

In 2009, Depp played John Dillinger in Public Enemies, which did well commercially. He also starred in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, dedicated to his late friend Heath Ledger.

2012–2020: Career setbacks

In 2012, Johnny Depp was one of the biggest movie stars in the world. He even set a record for being the highest-paid actor earning a whopping $75 million! That year, he made a brief appearance in a movie based on the TV show 21 Jump Street, which he starred in back in the day. He also worked with his long-time collaborator Tim Burton on a film called Dark Shadows, which didn’t do so well in the US.

After his deal with Warner Bros. ended, Depp teamed up with Disney for several movies. The first one The Lone Ranger, where he played Tonto, wasn’t a hit. Some people criticized his casting as a Native American. Then came Transcendence, where he played a scientist studying artificial intelligence but it didn’t do well either.

In 2015, he appeared in two movies. Mortdecai was a flop, but Black Mass, where he played a real-life crime boss got him some praise. He also had a small part in a movie called London Fields, which had its release delayed due to legal issues.

In addition to his movie work, Depp became the face of a fragrance for Dior and was honored as a Disney Legend.

In 2016, he appeared in Yoga Hosers with his daughter and played Donald Trump in a funny movie. He also reprised his role as the Mad Hatter in Alice Through the Looking Glass but it didn’t do as well as the first one.

In 2017, he returned as Captain Jack Sparrow in another Pirates of the Caribbean movie which didn’t do great in the US but did well internationally. He also appeared in Murder on the Orient Express.

The following year, he voiced a character in an animated movie called Sherlock Gnomes. He also starred in two independent films City of Lies and Richard Says Goodbye. And he was back as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Around this time, Disney decided not to use him in future Pirates movies, and Universal dropped him from their monster movie franchise. He continued to work on smaller projects like Waiting for the Barbarians and Minamata.

In 2020, he left the Fantastic Beasts franchise after losing a legal battle. Since then, he’s faced challenges in his career with some in the industry distancing themselves from him.

2021–present: Return to cinema

In March 2021, City of Lies finally came out after a long delay. At the same time, fans started a petition to bring Johnny Depp back to the Pirates of the Caribbean series, and it got a lot of support. Another movie Depp was in, Minamata, faced some trouble getting released because of his being involved but it eventually came out and got good reviews. He’s also still working with Dior for their cologne ads.

Depp got some awards at European film festivals but some people weren’t happy about it because of the accusations against him by his ex-wife. He’s been vocal about feeling like he’s being unfairly treated in the entertainment industry.

In 2022, Depp got a medal from Serbia for his contributions to film and culture. Despite some legal troubles with his ex-wife, he surprised fans by playing guitar at a Jeff Beck concert and even went on tour with him. He also showed up at the MTV Video Music Awards.

He got a role in a French film called Jeanne du Barry playing King Louis XV. It’s a period piece about a woman who becomes the king’s mistress. The movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 where Depp’s acting was praised though some critics had mixed feelings about the film overall.

Other ventures

In 2004, Johnny Depp started a company called Infinitum Nihil to make movies where he acts or helps produce. He’s the CEO, and his sister Christi Dembrowski is the president. Their first two movies were The Rum Diary and Hugo both in 2011. They launched a European branch called IN.2 in 2021. Depp said they want to give artists a place to be creative without limits where they can make unexpected amazing art.

Depp used to co-own a nightclub in LA called The Viper Room from 1993 to 2003. He also briefly co-owned a restaurant bar called Man Ray in Paris. He and Douglas Brinkley edited a book by folk singer Woody Guthrie called House of Earth which came out in 2013.

Music

Before Johnny Depp became an actor he was a guitarist. He’s played with big names like Oasis, Iggy Pop, and Marilyn Manson. He’s even appeared in music videos for artists like Avril Lavigne and Paul McCartney.

In 2014, he rocked out on stage with Aerosmith. Then, in 2015, he teamed up with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry to form Hollywood Vampires. They released an album with classic rock covers and some new songs written by Depp himself. They’ve toured the world a few times since then.

In 2020, Depp covered John Lennon’s “Isolation” with guitarist Jeff Beck. They’ve since recorded more music together and even released an album called “18” in 2022. Depp has been joining Beck on tour including tribute concerts in 2023 with other legends like Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart.

Art

In July 2022, Johnny Depp’s artwork flew off the shelves at the Castle Fine Art Gallery in London. His collection called Friends & Heroes featured paintings of people who meant a lot to him like actors Al Pacino and Elizabeth Taylor and musicians Bob Dylan and Keith Richards. Depp made almost $4 million by selling 780 prints in just one day across 37 galleries. Before the sale, he talked about how art helps him express himself and honor those he cares about. The pieces sold super fast with individual prints priced at around £3,950 and the whole set for £14,950.

The success led to a follow-up collection called Friends & Heroes II in March 2023 featuring figures like Heath Ledger and Bob Marley. Then in July 2023, Depp revealed a self-portrait called Five, symbolizing a tough time he’d been going through for five years. He admitted that painting himself was tricky but also kind of like a reflection of himself in everything he creates. Once again the Castle Fine Art Gallery hosted the collections proving Depp’s knack for capturing detail and emotion.

Personal life

Relationships

Johnny Depp has had quite a romantic history. He was married to makeup artist Lori Anne Allison from 1983 to 1985. After that, he got engaged to actresses Jennifer Grey and Sherilyn Fenn in the late 1980s. Then in 1990, he proposed to Winona Ryder his co-star in Edward Scissorhands. They broke up in 1993 and he famously changed his “Winona Forever” tattoo to “Wino Forever.”

From 1994 to 1998 he dated English model Kate Moss. After that, he started a relationship with French actress and singer Vanessa Paradis whom he met while filming The Ninth Gate in 1998. They have two kids together Lily-Rose Melody Depp (born 1999) and Jack (born 2002). Depp has said that becoming a father was a beautiful surprise that gave him a strong foundation in life.

In 2012, Depp and Paradis separated. After that, he began dating actress Amber Heard whom he starred in The Rum Diary in 2011. They got married in 2015 but divorced in 2017 and heard accused Depp of being verbally and physically abusive which he denied. They eventually settled the divorce with Depp paying Heard $7 million which she pledged to donate to the ACLU and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Legal issues and allegations

Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd

In 2018, Johnny Depp sued a UK newspaper, The Sun, for calling him a “wife beater” in an article. They had a big trial in July 2020, where Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard talked about what happened during their marriage.

Depp’s lawyer said Heard lied about what happened but The Sun’s lawyer said there was a lot of evidence showing Depp hurt Heard many times.

In November 2020, the court said most of the times Depp hurt Heard were true. They said Depp scared Heard in some of those times. The court also said The Sun’s name-calling was mostly true.

After this, Depp had to leave the Fantastic Beasts movies. He tried to appeal the decision saying Heard didn’t give her divorce money to charity like she said she would. But the court said it didn’t change their decision.

They said the judge decided based on what happened in each case not what people thought about Heard. They said Depp’s appeal didn’t have a good chance of winning.

Depp v. Heard

In February 2019, Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for saying things he believed damaged his reputation. He claimed that three specific statements in an article she wrote for The Washington Post were lies. One was the headline about facing consequences for speaking up against sexual violence another was about her being seen as a figure of domestic abuse and the third was about seeing institutions protecting men accused of abuse. Depp said these statements made people think he abused Heard which he denies and that it cost him future acting jobs.

Heard fought back in August 2020, accusing Depp of trying to get her fired from movie and beauty contracts by organizing harassment online. Then it went to court again in a different case where Depp’s lawyer made statements in the media accusing Heard of making up stories about abuse. This led to more legal battles between them.

In October 2020, a judge removed Depp’s lawyer from the case for leaking private information. Then in November, a court in the UK ruled against Depp in another case involving a newspaper. Heard’s lawyers tried to use this ruling to dismiss Depp’s case in the US but the judge didn’t allow it because Heard wasn’t part of the UK case.

In August 2021, a judge ordered the organization Amber pledged money to during the legal battle to share documents related to her donation. Then in April 2022, a big trial started in Virginia where both Depp and Heard accused each other of abuse during their relationship. Heard said Depp became violent because of drugs and alcohol while Depp said Heard was abusive towards him.

After 13 hours of discussion, the jury decided that Heard’s statements in the article were lies and had harmed Depp. They ordered her to pay him $10 million. They also said some of the things Depp’s lawyer said about Heard were lies and awarded her $2 million but she didn’t get any extra punishment money.

Depp reacted to the verdict by saying he felt like he got his life back and thanked everyone who supported him. He said he hoped speaking out would help others in similar situations. After both sides tried to appeal they settled the case in December 2022. Heard said it wasn’t admitting defeat and Depp’s team said the jury’s decision still stood with Depp getting $1 million which he pledged to charity.

Other legal issues and allegations

In 1989, Johnny Depp got into trouble in Vancouver for fighting with a security guard when the police were called to quiet down a noisy party in his hotel room. Depp claimed the guard was rude to him, so they ended up tussling and Depp spit on him.

Then, in 1994 in New York City, Depp caused a lot of damage to his hotel room during a stay with his girlfriend Kate Moss. He had to pay nearly $10,000 to fix it.

In 1999, Depp got into another mess this time in London when he fought with photographers who tried to take his picture outside a restaurant.

A medical professor named Robin Eckert sued Depp in 2012, saying his bodyguards hurt her at a concert in Los Angeles. Depp settled the case with her before it went to trial.

In 2015, Depp and his wife at that time Amber Heard broke the rules in Australia by not declaring their dogs when they flew there. Heard got in trouble and had to apologize.

In 2016, Depp cut ties with his management company and sued them saying they mishandled his money. They argued back saying it was his fault. They settled their disagreement later.

In 2018, Depp faced more trouble when two of his bodyguards sued him for not paying them fairly and making them do dangerous tasks. They settled in 2019.

That same year, Depp was accused of hitting a crew member on the set of a movie. He denied it saying the crew member provoked him. They settled the case in 2022.

In 2022, Depp and Jeff Beck were accused of using someone else’s lyrics in their song without giving credit. They’re still fighting about it in court.

And just this year, actress Lola Glaudini said Depp yelled at her while they were filming a movie in 2001. Depp’s spokesperson said he values his relationships with coworkers and another crew member from the movie said he never saw Depp act like that.

Alcohol and drug use

Johnny Depp has had a tough time with drugs and alcohol for most of his life. He started taking his mom’s pills when he was just 11, started smoking at 12, and had tried pretty much every drug by the time he was 14. He even struggled with alcohol while filming What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? back in 1993.

In interviews, he’s been open about how he drank too much for years and felt like he was poisoning himself. But in 2013 he decided to stop drinking saying he’d gotten everything he could out of it. He joked that he and alcohol got along too well but it was time to part ways.

When he split up with his longtime partner Vanessa Paradis he made a conscious effort not to turn to alcohol to cope because he knew it could be dangerous.

In a 2018 interview, a reporter saw him using hashish and described him as sometimes funny and sometimes hard to follow. Depp brushed off claims that he spent a ton of money on wine each month saying it was far more than that.

During a 2020 legal battle, Depp admitted to being addicted to a painkiller called Roxicodone and to misusing alcohol. He also confessed to using other drugs like marijuana, MDMA, and cocaine but said he never got addicted to any of them.

Political views

In November 2016, Johnny Depp joined a campaign called Imprisoned for Art. He wanted Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov who was in Russian custody to be set free.

At the Glastonbury Festival in 2017, Depp criticized President Donald Trump. He asked “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president? I want to clarify: I’m not an actor. I lie for a living. However, it’s been a while and maybe it’s time. I’m not insinuating anything.” Some people thought he was referring to John Wilkes Booth the actor who killed Abraham Lincoln. The Secret Service said they knew about Depp’s comment but couldn’t talk about it for security reasons. Depp said sorry soon after explaining that his comment didn’t come out the way he meant it and that he didn’t mean any harm.

Net Worth

Johnny Depp’s net worth is estimated to be $150 million as of 2024, according to Celebrity Net Worth. However, that might not be accurate because he’s been dealing with financial problems for quite some time.

Reportedly, he earned a whopping $650 million from his successful movie career between 1999 and 2016 as shown in legal documents acquired by The Hollywood Reporter. But it seems he ended up spending more than he earned due to a string of movie flops at the box office and rumors about him being hard to work with often showing up late and unprepared on sets.