Biography of Johnny Depp

John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor, producer, and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards and two British Academy Film Awards.

Depp made his debut in the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), before rising to prominence as a teen idol on the television series 21 Jump Street (1987–1990). In the 1990s, Depp acted mostly in independent films, often playing eccentric characters. These included What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Benny and Joon (1993), Dead Man (1995), Donnie Brasco (1997), and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998). Depp also began collaborating with director Tim Burton, starring in Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994), and Sleepy Hollow (1999).

In the 2000s, Depp became one of the most commercially successful film stars by playing Captain Jack Sparrow in the Walt Disney swashbuckler film series Pirates of the Caribbean (2003–present). He received critical praise for Finding Neverland (2004), and continued his commercially successful collaboration with Tim Burton with the films Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), and Alice in Wonderland (2010). In 2012, Depp was one of the world's biggest film stars, and was listed by the Guinness World Records as the world's highest-paid actor, with earnings of US$75 million. During the 2010s, Depp began producing films through his company, Infinitum Nihil, and formed the rock supergroup Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry, before starring as Gellert Grindelwald in the Warner Bros. Wizarding World films Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).

From 2015 to 2017, Depp was married to actress Amber Heard. Their divorce drew media attention as Heard alleged that Depp had been abusive throughout their relationship, Depp refuting in 2018 that Heard had abused him, before unsuccessfully suing the publishers of British tabloid The Sun for English defamation. As of 2022, Depp is similarly suing Heard for defamation in Virginia after she wrote an op-ed saying she was a public victim of domestic violence, with Depp describing himself as a victim of cancel culture. He is the father of French-American actress and model Lily-Rose Depp.