Amber Heard
Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress. 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), 3 Days to Kill (2014), Magic Mike XXL (2015), and The Danish Girl (2015). From 2017 to 2023, Heard played Mera in the DC Extended Universe, including the films Justice League (2017), Aquaman (2018), and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). She has also acted in television series such as The CW's teen drama Hidden Palms (2007) and the Paramount+ fantasy series The Stand (2020–2021).
Amber Heard
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.[3]
Heard married actor Johnny Depp in 2015 until their dissolution of the marriage in 2016. The two have since accused each other of domestic abuse and engaged in two lengthy and high-profile defamation cases, the Depp v. NGN trial and the widely publicized Depp v. Heard trial.[4][5][6]
Early life
Amber Laura Heard was born on April 22, 1986,[7][8] in Austin, Texas, the middle child of three daughters[9] of internet researcher Patricia Paige (née Parsons; 1956–2020) and construction company owner David Clinton Heard (born 1950).[10] The family lived outside Austin.[11] Heard's father trained horses in his free time, and she grew up riding horses, hunting, and fishing with him.[11] She also participated in beauty pageants, although as an adult she has said that she could no longer "support the objectification".[11][12] Raised Catholic, Heard began identifying as an atheist at the age of sixteen after her best friend died in a car crash.[12] The following year, no longer comfortable in "conservative, God-fearin' Texas",[11] Heard dropped out of her Catholic high school to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles.[10][9] She eventually earned a diploma through a home-study course.[12]
Career
2003–2007: Early roles
Heard's earliest acting work included appearances in two music videos, Kenny Chesney's "There Goes My Life" and Eisley's "I Wasn't Prepared", and small supporting roles in the television series Jack & Bobby (2004), The Mountain (2004), and The O.C. (2005). She made her film debut in a minor role in the sports drama Friday Night Lights (2004), followed by brief supporting roles in films Drop Dead Sexy (2005), North Country (2005), Side FX (2005), Price to Pay (2006), Alpha Dog (2006), and Spin (2007), and a guest-starring spot in an episode of the police procedural crime drama television series Criminal Minds. Heard received her first leading role in the unconventional slasher film All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, but was not released in Europe until 2008 and in the US until 2013 due to distribution problems.[13][14][15]
In 2007, Heard played the love interest of the main character in The CW's teen drama Hidden Palms, which the network aired to replace summer reruns of other series aimed at teenage audiences. That same year, Heard also appeared in the short movie Day 73 with Sarah,[16] in the teen drama Remember the Daze, and in an episode of the Showtime series Californication.[17]
Charity and activism
Heard traveled to the Mexico-US border with Amnesty International and worked with the organization on a bilingual campaign to raise awareness about US immigration policies.[85][86] She supported the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights's Stand Up for Human Rights campaign.[87][3] Heard was one of the speakers at the United Nations's 9th Annual Social Good Summit in September 2018.[88] In her talk, she highlighted the centrality of humans and significance of fairness and justice, as embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[89] Ahead of the 70th anniversary of the declaration's drafting, Heard gave a speech at HagueTalks' Imagine the World We Want event in October 2018.[90][91]
In April 2018, Heard joined the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) on a multi-specialty medical mission to the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan as a Goodwill Ambassador. She henceforth partnered with SAMS to help finance treatment for children in the camp with thalassemia.[92][93][94] In November 2018, she visited Smile Train's programs in Mexico, during which she met with children with cleft lip and palate, their families, and doctors.[95] In February 2019, Heard joined SAMS' mission to Lebanon to help Syrian refugees living in poverty, during which she visited informal settlements in Beqaa Valley. She also partnered with SAMS in raising funds for psychosocial and educational programs and vocational training for the women and children in these settlements.[96][97]
In November 2016, Heard appeared in a public service announcement (PSA) on domestic violence for the #GirlGaze Project. In the PSA, she spoke about the importance of making it easier for violence against women (VAW) survivors to come forward and self-advocate. She also highlighted the importance of taking responsibility for how VAW is handled and discussed in society.[98][99] In a letter published in the December 2016 issue of Porter magazine, she spoke to "every woman who is suffering in silence," assuring them that they "may not see us, but we are there. Your sisters are everywhere... and we are with you."[100][101]
During The Economist's Pride and Prejudice event in March 2017, Heard highlighted the underrepresentation of LGBTQ characters in the Hollywood film industry.[102] Referencing her own coming out story, she praised actresses that are candid about their sexuality and encouraged men in the industry to help "challenge the status quo".[103] In August 2017, Heard produced a short video for the publication, in which she spoke about the gender pay gap and underrepresentation of women in the industry.[104] In 2018, Heard became an ambassador for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), aiding the organization's advocacy for justice in gender issues.[105][106]
In August 2016, Heard pledged to donate her $7 million divorce settlement with Johnny Depp to the ACLU and Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).[107][108] In November 2016, she defended this pledge against an allegation from TMZ–despite Depp not having completed the payment to her–that she had not yet made the donations as pledged.[109] CHLA included Heard in their "Honor Roll of Donors" list for the fiscal year 2017.[110] Depp finished paying the full settlement to Heard in October 2018.[111][112] On the Dutch talk show RTL Late Night in October 2018, Heard said she had donated $7 million to the ACLU and CHLA.[113] As part of Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd, Heard stated in a 2020 testimony that the settlement's full amount was donated to charity.[114]
In January 2021, the Daily Mail reported an allegation made by Depp's lawyers that Heard had yet to complete her donations.[115][116] In response to this claim, Heard's lawyer stated that Heard intended to "eventually fulfill her pledge" but had "been delayed in that goal because ... she has been forced to spend millions of dollars" following Depp's lawsuit.[117][118] During the 2022 Depp v. Heard trial, the corporate designee of CHLA testified that as of 2021, Heard had given the organization $250,000.[119] The ACLU's chief operating officer testified in December 2021 that the organization expected to receive the money over a 10-year period.[120] To that time, a total of $1.3 million had been donated to the ACLU in Heard's name between 2016 and 2018.[121] Heard testified that defending the case had cost her more than $6 million in legal fees and that she planned to resume her donations when she could.[111][122]
In May 2019, Heard gave a speech on Capitol Hill in support of the SHIELD Act, discussing her experience with the nonconsensual leak of her private photos obtained via hacking as part of the 2014 celebrity nude photo leak.[123] Heard wrote an op-ed in The New York Times in November 2019, deeming "revenge porn" an inappropriate label due to the lack of consent for the images' disclosure and emphasizing the importance of congressional legislation to protect privacy in light of state laws' failure.[124] In the same month, Heard, together with Nico Tortorella and DC Comics, was awarded for "their activism and commitment to disenfranchised youth" by the Hetrick-Martin Institute.[125] Prior to the 2020 United States presidential election, Heard appeared in an election ad created by artist Marilyn Minter in support of Planned Parenthood and participated in the VoteRiders #IDCheck Challenge on social media.[126][127]