Amber Laura Heard is an American actress. She made her film debut in 2004 in the sports drama Friday Night Lights. After small roles in North Country and Alpha Dog, Heard played her first leading role in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006) and appeared in The CW television show Hidden Palms (2007). Heard’s breakthrough came in 2008 with roles in Never Back Down and Pineapple Express. She received the Breakthrough Award at Young Hollywood Awards. Her appearance in films such as The Informers, The Stepfather, Zombieland, and The Joneses brought her further attention. She next starred in John Carpenter’s The Ward, alongside Nicolas Cage in Drive Angry, and alongside Johnny Depp in The Rum Diary, for which she won a Spotlight Award at the Hollywood Film Festival. In 2014 she appeared in 3 Days to Kill, and in 2015 in Magic Mike XXL and The Danish Girl. She will play Mera in the upcoming superhero film, Justice League. Heard publicly came out at GLAAD’s 25th anniversary event in 2010, and has stated, “I don’t label myself one way or another—I have had successful relationships with men and now a woman. I love who I love; it’s the person that matters.” Of her decision to come out, she said: “I think when I became aware of my role in the media, I had to ask myself an important question ‘Am I part of the problem?’ And I think that when millions and millions of hard-working, taxpaying Americans are denied their rights and denied their equality you have to ask yourself what are the factors that are an epidemic problem and that’s what this is.” Heard was in a relationship with photographer Tasya van Ree from 2008 to 2012. She met actor Johnny Depp while filming The Rum Diary in 2011, and they began living together the following year. They were married in a private civil ceremony at their home in Los Angeles on February 3, 2015. In April 2015, Heard and Depp breached Australia’s biosecurity laws when they failed to declare their two Yorkshire terriers to the Australian Customs Service when they flew by private jet into Queensland, where he was working on a film. Heard plead guilty to falsifying quarantine documents, stating that she had made a mistake due to sleep deprivation. She was placed on a one-month good behavior bond and paid a $1,000 fine for producing a false document. Heard and Depp also released a video in which they apologized for their behavior and urged people to adhere to the biosecurity laws. The Guardian called the case the “highest profile criminal quarantine case” in Australian history. Heard filed for divorce from Depp on May 23, 2016. Five days later, she obtained a temporary restraining order against him, stating in her court declaration that he had been “verbally and physically abusive” throughout their relationship, with the latest incident of violence having taken place only two days before she filed for divorce. In response, Depp’s lawyers alleged that she was “attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse”. Over the following three months, Heard’s lawyers provided information to the media on other alleged incidents of violence during the relationship, and images of her injuries from one incident were published by People. A settlement was reached on August 16, 2016 and the divorce was finalized in January 2017. Heard dismissed the restraining order, and they issued a joint statement, which stated that their “relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.” She also received US$7 million, which she has promised to donate in 2018 to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Elon Musk and Heard dated for a year, with the relationship ending in August 2017.
