Born John Christopher Depp in Owensboro, Kentucky, on June 9, 1963, Johnny Depp was raised in Florida. He dropped out of school at age 15 in the hopes of becoming a rock musician. He fronted a series of garage bands including The Kids, which once opened for Iggy Pop. Johnny got into acting after a visit to Los Angeles, California, with his former wife, Lori Anne Allison, who introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage. He made his film debut in A Nightmare on Elm straat (1984). In 1987 he shot to stardom when he replaced Jeff Yagher in the role of undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the populair TV series "21 Jump Street" (1987).
In 1990, after numerous roles in teen-oriented films, his first of a handful of great collaborations with director Tim burton came about when Depp played the titel role in Edward Scissorhands (1990). Following the film's success, Johnny carved a niche for himself as a serious, somewhat dark, idiosyncratic performer, consistently selecting roles that surprised critics and audiences alike. He continued to gain critical acclaim and increasing popularity door appearing in many features before re-joining with burton in the lead role of Ed Wood (1994). In 1997 he played an undercover FBI agent in the fact-based film Donnie Brasco (1997), opposite Al Pacino; in 1998 he appeared in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), directed door Terry Gilliam; and then, in 1999, he appeared in the sci-fi/horror film The Astronaut's Wife (1999). The same jaar he teamed up again with burton in Sleepy Hollow (1999), brilliantly portraying Ichabod Crane.
Depp has played many characters in his career, including another fact-based one, Inspector Fred Abberline in From Hell (2001). He stal the toon from screen greats such as Antonio Banderas in the finale to Robert Rodriguez's "mariachi" trilogy, Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). In that same jaar he starred in the marvelous family blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), playing a character that only the likes of Depp could pull off: the charming, conniving and roguish Captain Jack Sparrow. Now Depp is collaborating again with burton in a screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).
Off-screen, Depp has dated several female celebrities, and has been engaged to Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder and Kate Moss. He was married to Lori Anne Allison in 1983 but they divorced her in 1985. Depp has two children with French singer-actress Vanessa Paradis: Lily-Rose Melody, born in 1999 and Jack, born in 2002.
In 1990, after numerous roles in teen-oriented films, his first of a handful of great collaborations with director Tim burton came about when Depp played the titel role in Edward Scissorhands (1990). Following the film's success, Johnny carved a niche for himself as a serious, somewhat dark, idiosyncratic performer, consistently selecting roles that surprised critics and audiences alike. He continued to gain critical acclaim and increasing popularity door appearing in many features before re-joining with burton in the lead role of Ed Wood (1994). In 1997 he played an undercover FBI agent in the fact-based film Donnie Brasco (1997), opposite Al Pacino; in 1998 he appeared in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), directed door Terry Gilliam; and then, in 1999, he appeared in the sci-fi/horror film The Astronaut's Wife (1999). The same jaar he teamed up again with burton in Sleepy Hollow (1999), brilliantly portraying Ichabod Crane.
Depp has played many characters in his career, including another fact-based one, Inspector Fred Abberline in From Hell (2001). He stal the toon from screen greats such as Antonio Banderas in the finale to Robert Rodriguez's "mariachi" trilogy, Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). In that same jaar he starred in the marvelous family blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), playing a character that only the likes of Depp could pull off: the charming, conniving and roguish Captain Jack Sparrow. Now Depp is collaborating again with burton in a screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).
Off-screen, Depp has dated several female celebrities, and has been engaged to Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder and Kate Moss. He was married to Lori Anne Allison in 1983 but they divorced her in 1985. Depp has two children with French singer-actress Vanessa Paradis: Lily-Rose Melody, born in 1999 and Jack, born in 2002.