Johnny Depp was born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky to parents John Christopher and Betty Sue Palmer (divorced). He moved to Florida as a child and grew up there.

He dropped out of high school at age 15 in hopes of becoming a rock n’ roll star. He joined a number of bands, including The Flame, which was eventually renamed The Kids, which opened up a show for Iggy Pop. However, the career in music was not going well and he resorted to selling ballpoint pens to make some money.

On a vacation to LA, he was introduced to Nicolas Cage by his wife, Lorrie Anne Anderson (they married in 1983 and divorced in 1985), who introduced him to some of his own connections. He eventually got his first acting job on the movie A Nightmare On Elm Street in 1984 (credited as Oprah Noodlemantra). His big break came three years later, in 1987, when he was given the role of Tommy Hanson on the TV show 21 Jump Street. He became an overnight teen heartthrob from this exposure, a role he was uncomfortable with.

His role which shed his teenage hunk image was in the lead role in Edward Scissorhands in 1990, where he we was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical. For his acting skills, he was awarded the 1990 ShoWest Convention Award for Male Star of Tomorrow. This more serious role led to other movies in the 1990’s which he played very diverse roles, such as a Charlie Chaplin reincarnate in Benny & Joon (he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical; MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance; and the MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo w/ Mary Stuart Masterson, an eccentric movie producer in Ed Wood (he received another nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical), an undercover cop in Donnie Brosco, a man on the brink of dispear in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a romantic in Chocolat (nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture), and the eclectic Icobod Crane in Sleepy Hallow (for which won him a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – Horror and nominations for the Saturn Award for Best Actor and the Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical.

In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s Depp stayed in the limelight even when he was not in a movie with arrests for allegedly selling drugs, trashing an apartment, fighting with a paparazzi and making political comments about the United States.

In the late 1990’s he began dating international singer Vanessa Paradis. [Note: he has been engaged to Sherlilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey and Winona Ryder] They have two children together, Lily-Rose Melody (b. 1999) and John Christopher (nicknamed “Jack”) (b. 2002). They currently live in France.

He continued portraying interesting and colorful characters in the new millennium including roles in From Hell (nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actor), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (nominated for the Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical), Finding Neverland and his critically acclaimed role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (and its sequel). This role brought him the Empire Award for Best Actor; MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. He was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role; Saturn Award for Best Actor; BAFTA Film Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; BFCA Award for Best Actor; Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy; Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical; MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance; and the MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team (nominated) w/ Orlando Bloom. In addition he was also awarded the 2003 Hollywood Film Festival’s Actor of the Year. Not to mention his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He has appeared in the role as the eccentric Willie Wonka in a new adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He is also going to begin working on the third sequel to the Pirates of the Caribbean. He also owns a posh nightclub called The Viper Room in Los Angeles (where River Phoenix OD’d outside).

(Source: Biography by Ian Ripley, PopStarsPlus.com, Sr. Staff Writer)