Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress, humanitarian and social activist. She had her first leading role in the horror film All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006), and went on to star in films such as The Ward (2010), Drive Angry (2011), and London Fields (2018). She has also had supporting roles in films including Pineapple Express (2008), Never Back Down (2008), The Joneses (2009), The Rum Diary (2011), Paranoia (2013), Machete Kills (2013), Magic Mike XXL (2015), and The Danish Girl (2015). Heard is part of the DC Extended Universe franchise, playing Mera in Justice League (2017), Aquaman (2018), and the forthcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). She has also acted in television series such as Hidden Palms (2007) and The Stand (2020).
In 2016, Heard became a volunteer with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in the capacity of an ACLU Artist Ambassador, a role reserved for individuals who advocate for civil rights and civil liberties. Heard also served as a Human Rights Ambassador for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Heard married actor Johnny Depp in 2015. The dissolution of the marriage in May 2016 garnered widespread media attention when Heard filed for a restraining order against Depp in which she alleged domestic violence. Depp later sued, with failure, British tabloid newspaper The Sun in London for their publication of Heard's domestic abuse allegations. The judgement in the suit upheld 12 of the 14 allegations against Depp, who was subsequently refused leave to appeal. Depp mounted another lawsuit, this time against Heard for an op-ed published in her name in the Washington Post discussing "sexual violence" and "domestic abuse" and how "institutions protect men accused of abuse." The lawsuit—in response to which Heard filed her own countersuit over allegedly defamatory statements made by Depp's lawyer—became the subject of a televised and widely-publicized trial at the end of which the jury concluded that Heard was liable for all three false and defamatory statements whereas in her counter lawsuit, the jury held Depp's Adam Waldman lawyer liable for one defamatory statement. The judge ruled that Heard owed $10.35 million to Depp and that Depp owed Heard $2 million. Heard received backlash over her allegations, particularly on social media. Heard and Depp both appealed the Fairfax County Courthouse jury verdict in the Virginia lawsuit. Heard subsequently settled with Depp, with their lawyers announcing that Depp would receive $1 million in full settlement, the payment coming from Heard's insurers.
Early life :
Heard was born in Austin, Texas, the middle child of three daughters of internet researcher Patricia Paige (née Parsons; 1956–2020) and construction company owner David Clinton Heard (born 1950). The family lived outside Austin. Heard's father trained horses in his free time, and she grew up riding horses, hunting, and fishing with him. She also participated in beauty pageants, although as an adult she has said that she could no longer "support the objectification". Raised Catholic, Heard began identifying as an atheist at the age of sixteen after her best friend died in a car crash. The following year, no longer comfortable in "conservative, God-fearin' Texas", Heard dropped out of her Catholic high school to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles. She eventually earned a diploma through a home-study course.
