Johnny Depp

American actor and director, a baby-faced heart throb who began as a guitar player with the "Rock City Angels" when he made a screen debut in "Nightmare on Elm Street." Depp has a kind and generous side, buying his mom a $300,000 house in Hollywood, and hiring his brother and sister on staff, but for the most part he revels in an "up-yours" rebellion. Not feeling that he fit in anywhere, he showed off his wild temper, a dark side that is self-destructive with stupid thrill-seeking tricks such as blowing on fire with a mouth full of gas. The poster-boy of grunge, Depp has always had a unique look about him. He has no interest in the usual male movie-star fascinations, including an entourage, the need for a hit action movie every other summer, and a preoccupation with salaries, even though he recently crossed the $4 million per picture threshold. Depp's unkempt, soulful slouch, along with his dry disregard for the affectations of hygiene, tend to deconstruct the very notion of male glamour. The youngest of four kids of Betty Sue, a waitress, and John, a city engineer, Johnny moved so much as a kid that he does not remember one place as "home." Depp did, however, spend the first seven years of his life in Kentucky. A fact which, to this day, causes him to call himself a southerner. After Kentucky, the family picked up, once again, and headed for Florida; by the time that Depp was in his teens, his brother, two sisters, and he had lived in more than 30 houses. He spent most of his adolescence in his room, playing guitar. He started smoking at age 12 and became a chain-smoker. He lost his virginity at 13 and was using all types of drugs by 14. Known for flouting authority, he was a school dropout at 16, taking odd jobs to get by. He put together a band called "Kids" and they moved to Los Angeles in 1983, hoping to hit the music big time. He married at 20 for two years. When he got the job in "Nightmare," he found that he'd gotten on a roller-coaster ride going up, with fame just ahead. Three years later he was cast in the TV series "21 Jump Street," 1987-1990 to become a star. His film roles were followed by "Cry-Baby," "Edward Scissorhands," "Ed Wood," "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," and "Nick of Time." As a young adult, he lived a vagabond life, spending a lot of time at the Viper Room, the club he owns in Hollywood, and driving his Porsche Carrera. Depp finally bought his own house, a 1930s mansion in the Hollywood Hills, in 1996. The $3 million house, where, legend has it, Bela Lugosi once lived and scenes from "The Wizard of Oz" were shot, took more than a year for him to restore. Since his early marriage and subsequent divorce, he has practiced serial monogamy, becoming engaged to a succession of girl friends that included actresses Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey and Winona Ryder. On 13 September 1994, 5:30 AM, Depp was arrested for criminal mischief, suspected of a drunken fight with his girl friend, model Kate Moss, during which he wrecked a $1200 per night room in a posh New York hotel resulting in $10,000 in damages. They broke up in 1997, after which they had an intermittent relationship. On 27 May 1999, his companion, French actress Vanessa Paradis, gave birth to their daughter, Lily-Rose Melody Depp, Paris. They had met at a private dinner in Paris where Depp was preparing for his role in Polanski's "The Ninth Gate." In preparationfor his role as a father he bought a $2 million home in France's Cote d'Azur where he, his mate and his children live. In 1999, he directed and starred in a motion picture that he co-wrote with his brother, D.P., entitled "The Brave." In March 2001, Depp sold the horse farm he bought for his mom for $1 million. The ex-pat actor was voted the sexiest man alive in 2003 by People magazine. He and his partner rushed their daughter Lily-Rose to the hospital at the end of February 2007 with an undisclosed illness; she was hospitalized for several weeks. Some reports gave blood poisoning from a rusty nail or tack as the cause. She was released mid-March. After 14 years together and following months of media speculation, Depp and Paradis announced their separation in June 2012. Depp subsequently began dating actress and model Amber Heard in 2012; they met on the set of The Rum Diary. They married on 3 February 2015, in a private civil ceremony at their home in Los Angeles. Heard filed for divorce in May 2016. Link to Wikipedia biography Link to Astrodienst discussion forum