Right now, Amber Heard and Johnny Depp are still in an ongoing legal battle, one that is based on 'he said, she said' and scandal. While the jury is still out on who did what, Depp is probably thinking it was a mistake to marry Heard, to begin with, and vice versa.
The verdict for Depp's libel case against The Sun in regards to them calling him a "wife-beater" is still out but many of Depp's past partners have come forward to vouch for him. The recorded audio of Heard confessing she's hit Depp has also been revealed and has painted Heard as the bad guy.
While we sort through all of the drama between the ex-couple, it might be a good idea to take a look at who Heard was before she even met Depp.
Heard Was Raised To Be Tough
Heard was raised near Austin, Texas, by her construction-working father and telecommunications-expert mother. Since her father always wanted a son, he treated his daughter as such and made her into a tom-boy of sorts, rigorously teaching her to hunt and horseback ride.
Through her upbringing, her father taught her to be tough most of all and she soon took to fancying older men (not a surprise since Depp was twice her age). Despite being a pretty blonde girl, she didn't date much in school. "I was always into older men as a teenager," Heard said. "I never dated in my school. That was a ridiculous idea to me."
After her best friend died in a car crash she turned to atheism and books by Ayn Rand and George Orwell. "I’ve read all of her books," Heard said. "Ever since then, I have been obsessed with her ideals. All I’ve ever needed is myself." She later dropped out of high school and pursued a career in modeling, but still earned her diploma through a home school program.
She worked as a lifeguard and as a maid at a modeling agency to earn enough money to start a modeling portfolio. At age 17 she had the money to move to New York to professionally start her modeling career, having the experience from beauty pageants. Her father gave her a .38 gun with a fine pearl handle as a goodbye present.
She Quit Modeling And Tried Acting
Heard moved to L.A. to begin her acting career and even though she had no contacts or connections, she was able to get auditions. She scored a role in Friday Night Lights in 2004 and after that appeared in several projects per year, including North Country as Charlize Theron's younger self.
Her first leading role was in the horror film, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane. After that, she also starred in eight episodes of Hidden Palms, for which she had to lose 25 pounds to play Greta Matthews.
All the hard work and continuous projects seemed to be paying off because she landed two breakout roles in 2008, one in Never Back Down, as Baja Miller, the lead's hot girlfriend, and another in Pineapple Express, as Angie Anderson, Seth Rogen's girlfriend. Later on, she played in The Informers, The Joneses, and Zombieland.
Depp Hand-Picked Her For The Rum Diary And They Had Immediate Chemistry
Before she ever met Depp, she reportedly had a similar scandalous relationship with photographer Tasya van Ree, who she met in 2008. Heard didn't open up about the affair until appearing at a GLAAD party. In 2009 Heard grabbed van Ree's arm for which she was arrested and detained for misdemeanor domestic violence.
The charges were dismissed however after van Ree called them misunderstood. But when Heard beat out Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley for Chenault in The Rum Diary and was hand-picked by Depp himself, her romance with van Ree went out the window.
The pair had immediate chemistry, which turned romantic and ruined Depp's 14-year-old partnership with Vanessa Paradis. After The Rum Diary, as we know, the pair started dating and later got married on his private island.
Soon after, she was always in the news about things she was doing with Depp and the blockbuster films she was getting at the time, including 3 Days to Kill, Magic Mike XXL, The Danish Girl, Justice League, and Aquaman.
Heard has struggled with being typecast as the pretty blonde and has spoken out about how Hollywood has very limited female roles. No doubt her father taught her to fight for things she believes in and it seems like she'll stick to her guns no matter what, even in the face of scandal and defamation.
