Top 10 Intriguing Facts About Johnny Depp 

John Christopher Depp II (Johnny Depp). Photo By Angela George – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Intriguing Facts About Johnny Depp  

John Christopher Depp II, commonly known as Johnny Depp, is an American actor and musician. He has been in the entertainment industry for many decades, excelling due to his acting prowess and music projects.  

Acting mostly in independent films, Johnny is versatile and often plays unique and rules-breaking characters. He is an award-winning actor and is one of the most successful Hollywood stars, even being listed by the Guinness World Records as the world’s highest-paid actor in 2012.  

Even though Depp has received negative publicity in the recent past due to allegations of domestic violence, substance abuse, poor on-set conduct, and the loss of his US$650 million fortune, the public still loves Johnny Depp movies because his performances and charisma are over the top.  

Here are the top 10 intriguing facts about Johnny Depp.   

1. His Upbringing Was Not The Best As He Had To Deal With A Cruel Mum  

Johnny was born on 9th June 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky. He was the lastborn child of John Christopher Depp, a civil engineer, and Betty Sue Wells Depp, a waitress. He has three older siblings, two sisters, Debbie and Christie, and a brother, Daniel. The family often moved cities and even houses within the same city.

Betty was often cruel to her husband and kids, making the home environment unfriendly. Johnny began using drugs when he was 11 years old, experimenting with his mother’s anxiety pills. The couple had a troubled marriage as a result of the cruelty and Mr. Depp packed his bags one morning and left the family when the boy was only 15 years old.  

2. Johnny Was Gifted A Guitar And It Changed His Life 

Johnny Depp singing on stage. Photo By Raph – Wikimedia

Depp’s mum bought him a guitar when he was 12 years old. He taught himself how to play whenever he could. He practiced in his room all the time and the music made him forget his troubles for a while. When his father left in 1978, Johnny dropped out of Miramar high school the following year to pursue his dream of becoming a rockstar. He was only 16 years old at the time. 

He attempted to go back to school after two weeks of absence but the management wasn’t eager to have him back especially because he was a difficult child. The principal told him to follow his musical dream and so he joined a band. 

His first band was known as The Kids. Depp was a vocalist and he also played the guitar. After a while, the band moved from Florida to Los Angeles, changing its name to Six Gun Method and hoping to get a record deal.  

3. He Married His First Wife When He Was Only 20 Years Old 

In L.A., life was not easy. The musician stayed in a ‘67 Chevy Impala and was doing odd jobs to get by His band broke up but Johnny continued playing with other bands including Hollywood Vampires, Rock City Angels, and Pink Grenade.   

When he was only 20 years old, he married his girlfriend Lori Anne Allison who was 26 years old. She was a makeup artist who had met several famous people in her line of work. She introduced Depp to Nicholas Cage and the two hit it off, first as drinking buddies and then as co-workers.  

His marriage to Lori did not last very long. They got divorced two years later, in 1985. 

4. Nicholas Cage Played A Huge Roll In Johnny’s Acting Career 

Depp had a little interest in acting and Nicholas Cage, a young actor himself, pointed his friend in the right direction. He urged the singer to audition for acting roles, and he even connected him to some agents.  

Johnny got his debut role on A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, after which he got several other roles and was able to comfortably pay his bills. This was the beginning of his acting career.  

5. He Is A Father Of Two And His Daughter Is An Actress

Actress Lily-Rose Depp, Johnny Depp’s Daughter. Photo By Georges Biard – Wikimedia Commons

Johnny Depp is the proud father of two kids from a previous relationship with French actress and singer Vanessa Paradis. The two met in 1998 on a movie set in France. Their first child is a daughter, Lily-Rose Melody Depp who was born on 27th May 1999 and is an actress.

Their son, John Jack Christopher Depp III was born on 9th April 2002. Unlike his sister, he stays away from the public eye and rarely gets photographed. The actor loves his children and loves being a dad. 

Read facts about Lily-Rose Depp here.

6. Depp Has Had Trouble With The Law Several Times  

Johnny has brushed with the law several times since he came into the limelight. In 1989, he was arrested for assaulting a security guard at a hotel in Canada and again 10 years later for grabbing a wooden plank and threatening photographers outside a restaurant in London.  

Those are not the only incidents. Depp was arrested for trashing a hotel room in 1994 and again sued by his former bodyguards who claimed working for him was unsafe. A crew member of a film he was acting in also sued him for assault. 

A restraining order was issued against him, warning him to keep away from Amber Heard. 

7. He Was Accused Of Domestic Violence 

Actor Johnny Depp. Photo By Harald Krichel – Wikimedia

Depp has been trending lately thanks to allegations of domestic violence between him and his ex-wife Amber Heard. It all started when Amber stated in an op-ed piece on The Washington Post that she was a survivor of domestic abuse.  

Although she did not name Depp, he sued her for 50 million dollars after he claimed that the allegations took a toll on his career because it was strongly implied that she was talking about him. Heard then countersued him for $100 million, claiming that she is not a liar and that he indeed abused her on multiple occasions during their marriage. 

The jury awarded Depp 10 million dollars in compensatory damages and an extra 5 million dollars in punitive damages from Heard. The punitive damages, however, were reduced to 350 thousand dollars due to a limit imposed by Virginia state law.  

On the other hand, Heard’s attorneys failed to prove all the elements of defamation, and she was awarded 2 million dollars in compensatory damages from Depp but no punitive damages. 

8. He Spends Time In Children’s Hospitals Giving Back 

Johnny Depp in a costume as Captain Jack Sparrow. Photo By NJM2010 – Wikimedia

In 2007, his then 7-year-old daughter Lily-Rose Depp fell seriously ill with an E. Coli infection that caused her kidneys to fail. She stayed at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for 9 long days but luckily, she made a full recovery.  

Depp visited the hospital later that year in full Captain Jack Sparrow attire and spent hours there, reading stories to the children. It was a lot of fun and so he does it often in different hospitals and also makes donations to hospital foundations. 

9. Depp Has A Production Company  

This award-winning actor owns a production company known as Infinitum Nihil. Based in Los Angeles, the company has a Latin name that translates to ‘nothing lasts forever’.  

His sister, Christi Dembrowski, is the president and its purpose was to do projects produced and acted by Johnny Depp. They have worked on several films since its conception in 2004. 

10. Depp Has A Star On the Hollywood Walk of Fame 

Johnny Depp’s star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California. Photo By danlev – Wikimedia Commons

On 16th November 1999, Johnny Depp received a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Though this actor has never won an Oscar, he has won many other awards and was named Sexiest Man Alive in 2009 by People magazine. He is a great actor and people just love him. 

Another great actor you can read about is Harvey Keitel, and here are 4 must-watch Johnny Depp Mob Movies.