There are a few actresses in the film industry that are considered to be some of the most beautiful women in the world, and one of these actresses is Amber Heard. This actress is a relatively new star that debuted in 2003 and received her biggest break in the 2008 martial arts film titled Never Back Down. From then on, she would star in a variety of films, including Drive Angry (2011), The Rum Diary (2011), and Aquaman (2018).
Although she is already an accomplished actress that has a long filmography, her career is overshadowed by controversies, particularly about her relationship with iconic actor Johnny Depp, whom she married in 2015 and divorced in 2016. To learn more about this popular actress’s career and personal life, let us explore the impact of Amber Heard on pop culture.
The Early Life of Amber Heard
Amber Laura Heard was born in Austin, Texas, on April 22, 1986. Her father is David Clinton Heard, an owner of a small construction company, while her mother is Patricia Paige, an internet researcher. Amber is the eldest of two, and her younger sister is named Whitney. Besides being an owner of a construction company, Heard’s father also trained horses during his free time. Because of her father’s love of outdoor activities, Amber Heard grew up riding horses, fishing, and hunting with his father and other family members.
When Heard was a teenager, she began participating in beauty pageants, but as she grew older, she said that she could not support the objectification of women anymore. Amber Heard also grew up as a Catholic but later became an atheist when her closest friend died in a car crash. Following the car crash, Heard dropped out of her Catholic school in order to pursue a career in acting in Los Angeles. However, she would continue to study later on to earn a diploma through a home-study course.
Rise of Amber Heard’s Acting Career
In Los Angeles, she would audition for various films, although her earliest acting gigs involved appearances in music videos like “I Wasn’t Prepared” by Eisley and “There Goes My Life” by Kenny Chesney. She would then have minor supporting roles in T.V. shows, including Jack & Bobby (2004) and The O.C. (2005)
Amber Heard would make her film debut in a minor role for Friday Night Lights, a sports drama released in 2004. Afterward, Heard would appear as a minor character for various films before getting a big break in the martial arts drama movie Never Back Down, released in 2008. Heard would then take major roles for The Informers (2008), The Joneses (2009), And Soon the Darkness (2010), and Drive Angry (2011).
Heard would star in The Playboy Club, a historical crime drama aired on NBC in 2011. Unfortunately, the show was canceled with only three episodes aired because of the backlash from feminist groups, as well as poor reviews and ratings. Heard would then appear in the 2011 film The Rum Diary, which starred Johnny Depp, her ex-husband.
The actress would appear in more movies throughout the early to mid-2010s before landing the biggest role of her career, which is Mera, a princess of an Atlantean kingdom that appears in Justice League (2017) and Aquaman (2018). After landing the said role, Heard would then become the ambassador for L’Oreal Paris, a cosmetics company.
The Personal Life of Amber Heard
Amber Heard has been in numerous relationships throughout the years, but only a few were publicized in detail. Heard dated renowned photographer and painter Tasya van Ree from 2008 to 2012, and in 2010, Amber Heard publicly came out as bisexual. During the relationship with van Ree, Heard legally changed her name to Amber van Ree before reverting it back to her original name in 2014.
After her relationship with van Ree, Amber Heard would then begin dating Johnny Depp in 2011. Heard first met Depp while filming The Rum Diary in 2009. Heard and Depp would then be married in February 2015 through a civil ceremony. Unfortunately, Heard filed for divorce in May 2016 and acquired a temporary restraining order against Depp for allegedly abusing her physically and verbally. A settlement between the two would be achieved in August 2016, wherein Depp needs to give $7 million in damages to Heard. The actress then pledged to donate the money to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union.
In 2019, Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for defamation for writing an op-ed or article about abusive relationships and sexual violence that was published in The Washington Post in December 2018. For the defamation case, Depp also alleged that it was Heard that abused him and not the other way around and that Heard created a hoax against him in order to tarnish his career and lose future projects. Amber Heard then countersued Depp in August 2020, stating that Depp created a harassment campaign on Twitter to get her removed from Aquaman and her brand deal with L’Oreal. The defamation case called Depp v Heard began on April 11, 2022, in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Months after the divorce with Depp, it was reported that Amber Heard and business magnate Elon Musk started dating. However, the couple would be short-lived, as they ended the relationship in early 2018. During the peak of the controversy surrounding the defamation case against her, Amber Heard dated cinematographer and actress Bianca Butti from January 2020 to December 2021. While she was dating Butti, Heard had her first child through a surrogate mother in April 2021.
Even though she debuted in 2003, Amber Heard only received a blockbuster role in the 2010s, particularly in Aquaman. So, it could be said that Amber Heard hasn’t yet impacted pop culture as much as her ex-husband Johnny Depp did, who already starred in many blockbuster films throughout the years. However, with the controversial relationship and falling out with Johnny Depp that became highly publicized, it is expected that Heard may have a difficult time finding another big role in the 2020s.