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. Depp got into acting after a visit to Los Angeles, California, with his former wife, Lori Anne Allison (Lori A. Depp), who introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage. He made his film debut in Les griffes de la nuit (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 aux mains d'argent (1990). Following the film's success, Depp 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 by 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 Las Vegas parano (1998), directed by Terry Gilliam; and then, in 1999, he appeared in the sci-fi/horror film Intrusion (1999). The same year 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, Insp. Fred Abberline in From Hell (2001). He stole the show from screen greats such as Antonio Banderas in the finale to Robert Rodriguez's "mariachi" trilogy, Desperado 2 - Il était une fois au Mexique (2003). In that same year he starred in the marvelous family blockbuster Pirates des Caraïbes - La malédiction du Black Pearl (2003), playing a character that only the likes of Depp could pull off: the charming, conniving and roguish Capt. Jack Sparrow. Now Depp is collaborating again with Burton in a screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel, Charlie et la chocolaterie (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.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: mikedavies86

Johnny Depp is perhaps one of the most versatile actors of his day and age in Hollywood, who has recuperated his image greatly since his portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in the acclaimed Pirates des Caraïbes - La malédiction du Black Pearl (2003), with a supporting cast of Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, and Geoffrey Rush.

Though highly successful now, Depp's early life, strangely, was as a rebel, and he took to vandalism and narcotics. He dropped out of school when he was 15, and he fronted a series of music-garage bands, including one named The Kids. However, it was when he married Lori Anne Allison (Lori A. Depp) that he took up the job of being a ballpoint-pen salesman to support himself and his wife. A visit to Los Angeles, California, with his wife, however, happened to be a blessing in disguise, when he met up with actor Nicolas Cage, who advised him to turn to acting, which culminated in Depp's film debut in the low-budget horror film, Les griffes de la nuit (1984), where he played a teenager who falls prey to dream-stalking demon Freddy Krueger. Three years later, Depp achieved fame as police cop Tom Hanson in the series 21 Jump Street (1987) (1987-90), and in 1990, he was firmly established as a leading Hollywood actor with the Tim Burton movie Edward aux mains d'argent (1990), where he played a sad-faced, tragic hero who has scissors for hands.

From then on, Depp was selective of his choice of roles in movies, and he more often than not played dark, sinister characters on-screen. He played an undercover FBI agent in Donnie Brasco (1997), in which he co-starred with Al Pacino; a druggie in Las Vegas parano (1998); and in two more Tim Burton ventures, Ed Wood (1994) and Sleepy Hollow (1999), with Christina Ricci and Casper Van Dien. He filmed a fifth Tim Burton film, Les noces funèbres (2005), as well as being committed for another Tim Burton production, where he plays Willy Wonka in the upcoming Charlie et la chocolaterie (2005), based on the classic children's novel by Roald Dahl.

During his career, Depp has, unfortunately, gotten himself under bad public scrutiny. He was accused of selling drugs at his own club, The Viper Room, in regard to the legendary celebrity, River Phoenix, who died outside the club due to drug overdose in 1993. The following year, Depp was arrested for smashing and trashing a New York suite. And, in 1999, he was arrested in London for being in a fight with paparazzi outside a restaurant.

Although he gained popularity since the success of Edward aux mains d'argent (1990), Depp wasn't hugely famous for many years until his portrayal of the suave, charming Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates des Caraïbes - La malédiction du Black Pearl (2003) in 2003. With the film's enormous success, it has opened several doors for his career and even included an Oscar nomination. He appeared as the central character in the Stephen King-based movie, Fenêtre secrète (2004); as the kind-hearted novelist James Barrie in the factually-based Neverland (2004), where he co-starred with Kate Winslet; and most recently as Rochester in the British film, Rochester, le dernier des libertins (2004).