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Johnny Depp Biography

in full John Christopher Depp II

(1963–)

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  • 2009 Public Enemies
  • 2009 The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
  • 2007 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
  • 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
  • 2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
  • 2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow
  • 2005 Corpse Bride
  • 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  • 2004 The Libertine
  • 2004 Finding Neverland
  • 2004 Secret Window
  • 2003 Once Upon a Time in Mexico
  • 2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
  • 2001 From Hell
  • 2001 Blow
  • 2000 Chocolat
  • 2000 The Man Who Cried
  • 1999 Sleepy Hollow
  • 1999 The Astronaut's Wife
  • 1999 The Ninth Gate
  • 1998 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
  • 1997 The Brave
  • 1997 Donnie Brasco
  • 1995 Nick of Time
  • 1995 Dead Man
  • 1994 Don Juan DeMarco
  • 1994 Ed Wood
  • 1993 What's Eating Gilbert Grape
  • 1993 Benny & Joon
  • 1993 Arizona Dream
  • 1991 Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
  • 1990 Edward Scissorhands
  • 1990 Cry-Baby
  • 1986 Platoon
  • 1986 Slow Burn
  • 1985 Private Resort
  • 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street
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Johnny Depp

Actor, director, musician. Born John Christopher Depp, Jr. in Owensboro, Kentucky, on June 9, 1963, to parents John and Betty Sue Depp. Johnny's father worked as a civil engineer, and his mother came from full-blooded Cherokee stock, and worked as a waitress and homemaker. The youngest of four children, Depp was withdrawn and a self-admitted oddball. "I made odd noises as a child," he later revealed in an interview. "Just did weird things, like turn off light switches twice. I think my parents thought I had Tourette's syndrome."

Johnny and his family moved frequently to accommodate his father's job, finally landing in Miramar, Florida, when Johnny was seven years old. The family lived in a motel for nearly a year, until his father found a job. Depp hated his new home and, by the age of 12 began smoking, experimenting with drugs, and engaging in self-harm due to the stress of family problems. "Puberty was very vague," he has said. "I literally locked myself in a room and played guitar."

In 1978, when Depp was 15, Johnny's parents divorced. As the youngest of four, it became Johnny's job to go to his father's office and pick up the weekly child-support money. The split caused a rift between Johnny and his father.

At 16, Depp dropped out of high school and joined the garage band, The Kids. The group became successful enough to open for the Talking Heads and the B-52s, but they barely made ends meet. Depp lived for months in a friend's '67 Chevy Impala.

In 1983, at the age of 20, Johnny met and married 25-year-old makeup artist Lori Allison. That same year, the couple moved to L.A. with Depp's band in the hopes of striking it big. Still living on a shoestring budget, Depp and his band mates supported themselves by selling pens for a telemarketing firm.

A year later, Depp fell into acting when his wife introduced him to her ex-boyfriend, actor Nicolas Cage. Cage saw potential in Depp, and introduced the hopeful musician to a Hollywood agent. After several small roles as a film extra, Depp landed his first legitimate movie role in the horror film Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). By 1985, the Kids had broken up—and so had Depp's marriage. After his split with Allison, Depp met actress Sherilyn Fenn, whom he met on the set of the short film, Dummies (1985). The couple dated, and were briefly engaged, but split shortly after. After their break-up, Depp then met and proposed to actress Jennifer Grey; their romance was also short-lived.

Depp started to study acting in earnest, first in classes at the Loft Studio in Los Angeles and then with a private coach. The lessons paid off in 1987, when he replaced actor Jeff Yagher in the role of undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the popular Canadian-filmed TV series 21 Jump Street. The role thrust Depp into almost immediate stardom. Johnny Depp became a teen idol overnight; a title that he greatly resented. When his contract on Jump Street expired in 1989, he leapt at the opportunity to pursue weightier roles.

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