March 26, 2009

Johnny Depp

John Christopher Depp II was born on June 9th, 1963, in Owensboro, Kentucky, however he was raised in Flordia. He dropped out of school at age 15 in hopes of becomming a rockstar. He fronted several bands including The Kids who once opened for Iggy Pop. Depp got into acting after a visit to Los Angeles, California, with his former wife, Lori Anne Allison, who introduced him to Nicholas Cage. He made his film debut in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). In 1987 he shot to stardom when he replaced Jeff Yagher in the role of undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the popular 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 title role in Edward Scissorhands. Depp became known in the industy as serious, somewhat dark, idiosyncratic performer, consistently selecting roles that surprised critics and audiences alike. He has teamed up with director Tim Burton several times after Edward Scissorhands in the films Ed Wood (1994) and in Sleppy Hollow (1999) playing the lead role of Ichabod Crane.

Some of his most popular films today are the Pirates of the Caribbean seires which includes Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At The World's End (2007).

In a kind of ironic twist: Depp was allergic to chocolate as a child and in 2005 he stared in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Off-screen, Depp has dated several female celebrities, and has been engaged to Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder and Kate Moss. He was married to Lori Anne Allison in 1983 but they divorced her in 1985. Depp is living with French singer-actress Vanessa Paradis, with whom he has two children: Lily-Rose Melody, born in 1999 and Jack, born in 2002. They have the same names of the two main characters in Legend (1985).

In 1999 Depp was arrested for getting into a fight with the paparazzis in front of a restaurant in London. Has twice recorded with British band Oasis. Most notably, he plays lead slide guitar on the track "Fade In-Out", from the 1997 album Be Here Now. Noel Gallagher, Oasis's lead guitarist, was allegedly too drunk to perform it himself, so celebrity pal Depp stepped in and nailed the lead on one take.