From eccentric Jack Sparrow to the straight and narrow... It's the redemption of birthday boy Johnny Depp

1/11
Happy Birthday, Johnny!
Happy Birthday Johnny Depp! The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star turns 59 on June 9 and he has plenty of reasons to celebrate this year. At the start of June, Depp won his multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard. Johnny, who went from high school drop out to one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, has led a tumultuous life with many ups and downs, loves and losses. To mark his special day here is a look at the highs and lows of Johnny Depp’s life... (©BANG Showbiz)
2/11
Musical Dreams
Born John Christopher Depp II in 1963, the high school dropout – who was given his first guitar at 12 – left school at 16 to pursue his dream of becoming a rock star. In 1980 Depp began playing in a band called The Kids which later changed its name to Six Gun Method and moved from Florida to LA in pursuit of a record deal. He married his first wife Lori Anne Allison in December 1983, a makeup artist and sister of the band’s bassist. The group split in 1984 and Depp went on to collaborate with Rock City Angels. He split from Lori a year later. (©BANG Showbiz)
3/11
Happy Accident
Depp was introduced to Nicolas Cage by his ex-wife Lori, and quickly became drinking buddies with the ‘Raising Arizona’ star who advised Depp to pursue a career in acting. Johnny had no acting experience and claimed he “ended up acting by accident” after Cage helped him land an audition for 1984 horror film ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’. Depp landed the role in Wes Craven's slasher classic and went on to land parts in films such as 'Private Resort', 'Platoon' and ‘Edward Scissorhands’. His performance in Tim Burton’s ‘Edward Scissorhands’ earnt him his first Golden Globe nomination. (©BANG Showbiz)
4/11
Aye aye Captain
After spending almost 20 years stacking up his filmography with acclaimed roles, Depp was cast in the role that made him a favorite in family homes all over the world. Depp portrayed Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney's 2003 blockbuster 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'. The film was a box office smash and earned him critical acclaim for his comedic performance - with him admitting he based the character on Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. Depp went on to win a Screen Actor’s Guild Award for Best Actor and an MTV Movie Award. In 2006, Johnny reprised his role as Captain Jack in the sequel ‘Dead Man’s Chest’ and again in 2007 for ‘At World’s End’. Four years later the fourth instalment ‘Pirates of the Caribbean, On Stranger Tides’ was released and its fifth instalment 'Dead Men Tell No Tales’ in 2017.
5/11
Mr Lover Man
His most recent relationship with Amber Heard saw him embroiled in a legal battle with the ‘Aquaman’ star. But Heard isn’t the only chapter in his turbulent love life. Can you believe Depp has only been married twice? After divorcing his first wife Lori in 1985, Depp enjoyed a string of high profile relationships. First it was ‘Twin Peaks’ star Sherilyn Fenn who he dated for three years, before moving on to ‘Dirty Dancing’ legend Jennifer Grey whom he met on a blind date. From 1989 to 1993 Depp had an on/off relationship with ‘Stranger Things’ actress Winona Ryder. They were engaged in 1990 and Depp even tattooed ‘WINONA FOREVER’ on his hand which he later changed to WINO FOREVER. A year later he moved onto British supermodel Kate Moss, who he dated from 1994 to 1997.
6/11
Trouble in Paradis(e)
Depp’s longest and most significant relationship was with French model and singer Vanessa Paradis. The pair were together for more than a decade from 1998 to 2012. The couple of 14 years never married but they share two children together, daughter Lily-Rose Depp and son Jack.
7/11
Experimentation
Johnny has partied hard through out his life and as well as enjoying alcohol to the fullest has also experimented with various substances. He recalled his first time using drugs was an 11-year-old when he took his mother’s nerve pills. Depp was already smoking at 12 and by 14 he had used “every kind of drug there was”. Depp admitted "I investigated wine and spirits thoroughly, and they certainly investigated me as well, and we found out that we got along beautifully, but maybe too well." (©BANG Showbiz)
8/11
Fantastic Beasts
In 2016, Johnny was cast as dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter prequel franchise ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’. He reprised his role in the 2018 sequel ‘The Crimes of Grindelwald’. However, Depp was dropped from the franchise and replaced by Mads Mikkelsen in the third instalment ‘The Secrets of Dumbledore’ after he lost a UK libel case against The Sun newspaper which had accused Depp of being a ‘Wife Beater’ over allegations of abuse against ex-wife Amber Heard.
9/11
Amber and Depp's Whirlwind Romance
It was a Hollywood romance that was short lived. After Johnny met Amber on set of 2011’s film ‘The Rum Diary’, the couple immediately started dating in 2012 not long after his split from Vanessa Paradis. The couple got engaged in less than two-years of dating in 2014 and married not long after in February 2015 on Depp’s private Island. However, only 15 months after marriage the couple filed for a divorce in May 2016 which was finalized in 2017.
10/11
Defamed
In 2018, not long after the MeToo movement had become a powerful force in the world, Heard published an op-ed in The Washington Post which insinuated that Depp abused her which was titled "Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change." As a result Depp was dropped from the sixth ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie as well as the third instalment of ‘Fantastic Beasts’. Depp filed for $50 million damages for defamation as he claimed her article was a smear campaign that had severely damaged his career. The ‘Aquaman’ actress countersued for $100 million insisting that her claims were true.
11/11
Exonerated
On April 12 in Fairfax, Virginia, the six week trial began. Depp’s legal team rested their case 13 days later with Heard testifying for the first time on May 4. During the trial shocking revelations had revealed that Johnny suffered abuse at the hands of Amber who was heard hitting him on tape and accused of cutting off his finger and even defecating in his bed. Johnny had jubilation on June 1, after he won the case against his ex-wife and was awarded over $10 million in damages. The jury found that Heard had acted with “malice” when publishing the op-ed.

Happy Birthday Johnny Depp!
The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star turns 59 on June 9 and he has plenty of reasons to celebrate this year.
At the start of June, Depp won his multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Johnny, who went from high school drop out to one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, has led a tumultuous life with many ups and downs, loves and losses.
To mark his special day here is a look at the highs and lows of Johnny Depp’s life...