John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor, producer and musician. He is considered by many people as one of the most famous actors of all time. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards.
In the 1980s, Depp gained popularity and became a teen idol, with the police procedural television series 21 Jump Street. Depp's first film he starred in was A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), which was also his first horror film he starred in. Since then he, among other things, continued to star in other films, including horror films.
Films featuring Johnny Depp have grossed over $1 billion at the United States box office and over $8 billion worldwide.
Biography[]
Ancestry[]
Johnny Depp is of French descent, since he is a descendant of Pierre Deppe (1697-1775), a French Huguenot immigrant who migrated from France to Virginia around 1700. He is also of English, Scottish, Dutch, Belgian, German, Irish and 3/2048 African descent.
Depp is descended from Elizabeth Key Grinstead, the biracial daughter of an African slave named Martha and Englishman Thomas Key who migrated from Bristol, Gloucestershire to Virginia. Grinstead was the first American woman of Sub-Saharan African descent to sue for freedom from slavery and win in 1655.
Early life[]
Depp was born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, the youngest of four children of waitress Betty Sue Palmer (née Wells) and civil engineer John Christopher Depp. In 1970, Depp and his siblings moved to Miramar, Florida. 8 years later in 1978, his parents got a divorce when he was 15. His mother later married Robert Palmer.
In 1979, Depp dropped out of Miramar High School to pursue his career as a rock musician. He collaborated with the garage rock band The Kids and the glam metal band Rock City Angels.
Career[]
In 1984, Depp made his feature-film acting debut with the slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street written and directed by Wes Craven. In the film, Depp played Glen Lantz, the boyfriend of the film's heroine Nancy Thompson (played by Heather Langenkamp) and one of the victims of Freddy Krueger (played by Robert Englund), the film's villain.
Personal Life[]
On December 20, 1983, Depp married Lori Allison, who introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage, who advised him to pursue a career as an actor. In 1985, Depp and Allison divorced.
Appearances/Characters[]
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (First appearance) - Glen Lantz
- Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare - Guy on TV
- Sleepy Hollow - Ichabod Crane
- The Ninth Gate - Dean Corso
- From Hell - Frederick Abberline
- Secret Window - Mort Rainey
- Corpse Bride - Victor van Dort
- Sweeney Todd - Benjamin Barker/Sweeney Todd
- Dark Shadows - Barnabas Collins
- Charlie And The Chocolate Factory- Willy wonka
