Johnny Depp started smoking at 12, and played guitar in a rock band called The Flame. He lost his virginity to a groupie at 13, in the band's van. His parents divorced when Depp was in high school, and Depp soon dropped out to pursue music full-time. Rechristened The Kids and later Six Gun Method, the band moved to Los Angeles, and had their biggest moment as an opening act for Iggy Pop. Depp struggled to get by, but eventually met Nicolas Cage, who suggested he try auditioning for film and TV work. His first major role was in A Nightmare on Elm Street, as a young boy plagued by bad dreams. Depp sprang to fame in the lead role on the upstart Fox network's first show, 21 Jump Street, playing a baby-faced cop recruited to infiltrate high schools and young criminals' gangs. At the time, 21 Jump Street was Fox's biggest (and only) hit, but Depp abhorred being a "teen heartthrob" and left after three seasons.
[1] Slightly more than 1/8th Cherokee mostly via his maternal great-grandmother, Minnie, the remainder being various European ethnicities. In a 25 August 2002 interview on France5 TV, he described himself as "Pu-pu platter... combination of weird things. Indian, Irish, German and god knows what. Just a mutt, really."
Father: John Christopher Depp Sr. (public engineer)
Mother: Betty Sue Wells (waitress)
Brother: Daniel P. Depp
Sister: Christie Dembrowski (b. 1961, Depp's personal manager)
Sister: Debbie
Wife: Lori Anne Allison (makeup artist, m. 1983, div. 1985)
Girlfriend: Sherilyn Fenn (dated in late 1980s, broken engagement)
Girlfriend: Winona Ryder (dated 1990-93, broken engagement)
Girlfriend: Jennifer Grey (dated in mid-1990s, broken engagement)
Girlfriend: Kate Moss (dated 1995-97, broken engagement)
Girlfriend: Vanessa Paradis (singer, b. 22-Dec-1972, cohabited since 1998, two children)
Daughter: Lily-Rose Melody Depp (b. 27-May-1999)
Son: John Christopher "Jack" Depp III (b. 9-Apr-2002)
High School: Miramar High School, Miramar, FL
Hollywood Walk of Fame 16-Nov-1999 at 7020 Hollywood Blvd. (motion pictures)
Kentucky Colonel 1996
Criminal Mischief New York City 1994
Risk Factors: Smoking
TELEVISION
21 Jump Street Officer Tom Hanson (#2, 1987-90)
FILMOGRAPHY AS DIRECTOR
The Brave (10-May-1997)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (21-Dec-2007)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (19-May-2007)
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (20-Jan-2007) Himself
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (25-Jun-2006)
Corpse Bride (8-Sep-2005) [VOICE]
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (13-Jul-2005)
The Libertine (16-Sep-2004)
Finding Neverland (4-Sep-2004)
And They Lived Happily Ever After (14-May-2004)
Secret Window (12-Mar-2004)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (27-Aug-2003)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (28-Jun-2003)
Lost in La Mancha (11-Feb-2002) Himself
From Hell (8-Sep-2001)
Blow (29-Mar-2001)
Chocolat (15-Dec-2000)
Before Night Falls (3-Sep-2000)
The Man Who Cried (2-Sep-2000)
Sleepy Hollow (17-Nov-1999)
The Astronaut's Wife (27-Aug-1999)
The Ninth Gate (25-Aug-1999)
The Source (23-Jan-1999)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (22-May-1998)
The Brave (10-May-1997)
Donnie Brasco (28-Feb-1997)
Cannes Man (1996) Himself
Nick of Time (22-Nov-1995)
Dead Man (26-May-1995)
Don Juan DeMarco (7-Apr-1995)
Ed Wood (28-Sep-1994)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (17-Dec-1993)
Benny & Joon (16-Apr-1993)
Arizona Dream (6-Jan-1993)
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (5-Sep-1991)
Edward Scissorhands (7-Dec-1990)
Cry-Baby (6-Apr-1990)
Platoon (19-Dec-1986)
Private Resort (1985)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (9-Nov-1984)
Appears on the cover of:
People, 1-Dec-2003, DETAILS: Sexiest Man Alive
AKA John Christopher Depp Jr.