Johnny Depp Biography

Johnny Depp, Actor

Birthdate: June 9, 1963

Birthplace: Owensboro, Kentucky

Sign: Gemini

Three-time Academy Award nominated, Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award-winner John Christopher Depp II was born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky. He is the son of waitress Betty Sue Palmer and civil engineer John Christopher Depp, Sr. He has a brother named Danny and two sisters named Christie and Debbie. Christie is currently his personal manager. His parents divorced in 1978 when he was just 15. He had engaged in self-harm as a child to deal with family problems.

When Depp was 12, his mother bought him a guitar and he began playing in different bands. He dropped out of high school to become a rock musician. According to him when he was being interviewed on "Inside the Actors Studio," he tried to go back to school a couple of weeks later but the principal told him to follow his dreams instead.

In 1983, Depp married Lori Anne Allison and divorced in 1985. His wife had introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage, who advised him to pursue acting.

In 1987, Depp starred in Fox's "21 Jump Street." The series had turned Depp into a popular teen idol, which he found irritating. He had claimed that the title had made him feel like he was "forced into the role of product" and that it was "a very uncomfortable situation and I didn't get a handle on it and it wasn't on my terms at all."

His first major role was on "A Nightmare on Elm Street" in 1984. Depp had stated that starring in 1986's "Platoon" was his first "proper" film. In 1990, he starred in "Edward Scissorhands," a film directed by Tim Burton. The film was the first of many Burton and Depp had partnered in. Their films together are "Ed Wood" (1994), "Sleepy Hollow" (1999), "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005), "Corpse Bride" (2005) and the recent "Sweeney Todd" (2007).

It was his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the 2003 Disney film "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" that had his performance highly praised. In 2006 he starred in its sequel. According to a survey by Fandango, Depp was one of the main reasons why audiences wanted to see the movie. He was nominated for an Academy Award for that role. In 2004, his role as Scottish author J.M. Barrie in "Finding Neverland" earned him another Best Actor nomination in Oscar Awards.

For his role in his latest film "Sweeney Todd," he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. In December 2007, he had topped Autograph Collector Magazine's list of the 10 Best Hollywood Signers for the third year in a row.

Depp is father to Lily-Rose Melody Depp (born May 27, 1999) and John "Jack" Christopher Depp III (born April 9, 2002). Their mother is French singer/actress Vanessa Paradis, who is currently Depp's girlfriend. He had stated before that he will never get married again. His past relationships include Kate Moss, Jennifer Grey, and Winona Ryder. He had a tattoo that read "Winona Forever" when he was still dating Ryder but altered it to "Wino Forever" after their breakup.