American actress Amber Heard was born on April 22, 1986. She is 36 years old as of 2022. She made her acting debut in the 2006 horror movie All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, and she then appeared in movies including The Ward and Drive Angry (2011). She has also appeared in supporting roles in movies like The Danish Girl, Pineapple Express, Never Back Down, The Joneses, Machete Kills, and Magic Mike XXL (2015). Amber Heard acted in the role of Mera in the DC Extended Universe films Aquaman (2018), Justice League (2017), and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (to be released in 2023.
In television shows like Hidden Palms (2007) and The Stand, she has also appeared as an actor. Amber Heard is an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ambassador on women’s rights and a Human Rights Champion for the Stand Up for Human Rights campaign by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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Early Life
Austin, Texas, is the place of birth of Amber Laura Heard. Heard was raised outside of Texas with one brother and learned to ride horses, go hunting, and fish. She competed in beauty pageants as a teenager and attended a Catholic high school, but she eventually lost interest in religion and the Texan way of life that surrounded her. She thus quit school at age 17 and relocated to New York City. She initially got work in New York as a model, but she soon changed her focus to acting and relocated to Los Angeles.
Career
Amber Heard made numerous appearances in music videos to launch her acting career. Later, she had guest appearances on TV sitcoms like Jack & Bobby, The Mountain, and The O.C. With the release of Friday Night Lights in 2004, she made her feature debut. She became more well-known in the film industry as a result of the movie’s popularity. Later, she was cast in more roles in the films Drop Dead Sexy, North Country, Side FX, Price to Pay, You Are Here, and Alpha Dog. Additionally, she began to make appearances on programs like Criminal Minds and Californication.
Amber Heard later took on more prominent roles, including the title character in the teen drama Hidden Palms. Sadly, after only eight episodes and unfavorable reviews from critics, the show was canceled. Amber Heard also starred in the critically panned film Remember the Daze, which was another endeavor.
But by 2008 Amber Heard was beginning to make a name for herself as one of Hollywood’s top leading women. She co-starred with James Franco and Seth Rogen in the stoner comedy Pineapple Express this year. She appeared in Never Back Down as well. These two movies were both commercial hits, demonstrating Amber Heard’s ability to take roles to new levels. Nevertheless, she made appearances in flop movies like The Informers and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane.
Amber Heard continued this tendency of landing parts in both great and underwhelming movies in 2009. Even though Zombieland significantly advanced her career, she also finished the year with critically and commercially unsuccessful films like The Joneses and The Stepfather. The following time, Heard concentrated more on indie movies like ExTerminators, The River Why, and And Soon the Darkness. She also had an appearance in The Ward, another box office dud that received poor reviews.
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp collaborated on The Rum Diary in 2011 for the first time. The movie, based on a Hunter S. Thompson book, ultimately got unfavorable reviews and failed to have much of an impact at the box office. Films like Drive Angry, Paranoia, Machete Kills, and Syrup that used comparable plots came after.
Heard had a more fruitful year in 2015 thanks to her roles in One More Time, The Danish Girl, The Adderall Diaries, and Magic Mike XXL. All four of these movies were generally well-received by critics and/or audiences. Having said that, she also starred in London Fields, a disastrous disaster.
When the final cut of the 2015 movie was screened for audiences, both the director and the actors raised allegations of fraud. Heard was sued for $10 million for making illegal modifications to the script and not finishing voice-over work after the movie received incredibly negative reviews and Heard’s actions. A settlement was eventually made after she countersued.
Although she also became well-known for her role as the Atlantean queen Mera in the DC Extended Universe, Heard spent the following several years acting in a variety of independent films. She first portrayed Mera in Justice League, and she then appeared in Aquaman (2018) and its 2013 prequel.
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Johnny Depp Divorce
Amber Heard’s divorce from Johnny Depp was officially filed in 2016. Additionally, she sought a restraining order against her ex-husband and claimed that she had endured domestic violence during their relationship. Amidst a media frenzy, Depp promptly refuted the allegations. Amber Heard got a $7 million settlement from Depp after appearing in court and presenting proof to back up her claims. Amber then promised to donate the compensation to a good cause, namely the ACLU and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.
Johnny alleged that Amber had lied about giving the money to charity in January 2021. In order to learn how much money Heard had truly given to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and the ACLU, Depp’s attorneys reportedly contacted them.
The Children’s Hospital was said to have only received $100,000, which would be around $3.4 million short of her supposedly promised payment, according to the Daily Mail. The ACLU reportedly declined to provide the data. According to reports, the hospital even contacted Heard to inquire “if the pledge will not be fulfilled”.
Representatives of the ACLU testified in court in April 2022 that the group had received a total of $1.3 million of Amber’s pledged $3.5 million. However, it was also made clear that Amber had planned to donate for more than a decade.
At the same time, testimony showed that of the $1.3 million, Amber personally contributed just $350,000 directly, while Depp contributed $100,000, and Elon Musk, another of Amber’s former love partners, contributed $500,000. Another discovery during this time was that Heard informed the ACLU that she was having financial troubles when they inquired about the other half of her pledged payment.
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Defamation Lawsuit
After their divorce was finalized, Depp paid Amber Heard a settlement of $7 million. Amber then promised to give the money to a good cause, specifically the ACLU and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.
Johnny alleged that Amber had lied about giving the money to charity in January 2021. In order to learn how much money Heard had truly given to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and the ACLU, Depp’s attorneys reportedly contacted them.
The Children’s Hospital was said to have only received $100,000, which would be around $3.4 million short of her supposedly promised payment, according to the Daily Mail. The ACLU reportedly declined to provide the data. According to reports, the hospital even contacted Heard to inquire “whether the vow will not be honored”.
Johnny Depp sued News Group Newspapers, the owners of The Sun, in the UK in 2018 after the publication referred to him as a “wife beater” in an article from April 2018. The trial for the lawsuit was held in 2020. Heard and Depp both gave testimony for several days.
A judge determined in November 2020 that 12 of the 14 violent episodes Heard allegedly claimed to have experienced were “basically true.” In March 2021, Depp’s appeal was rejected.
Johnny filed a defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard in Virginia in 2019. In response to an opinion piece Amber Heard wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 detailing the alleged abuse she endured, he demanded a $50 million payment.
Despite prior, joint declarations from the pair declaring that “there was never any intent of physical or emotional harm” from either partner, Heard believed that she was strongly hinting that Depp was responsible for multiple incidents of violence, even though she never specifically identified Depp by name.
Depp further asserted that Heard’s actions which he claimed included hitting, kicking, throwing things, and even defecation—made him the genuine victim of domestic abuse. Heard’s requests to have the case dismissed were denied, and Depp’s legal team presented evidence in support of his claims.
In August 2020, Heard filed a countersuit. On April 11, 2022, the defamation case’s trial got underway in Fairfax County, Virginia.
A Virginia jury awarded Johnny $15 million in slander damages on June 1, 2022. Due to Virginia’s cap on punitive damages, that amount was soon lowered to $10.35 million. The jury also decided to pay Amber $2 million in damages. This damage award is appealable.
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Defamation Verdict
The jury in the Virginia case returned a favorable verdict for Depp on June 1, 2022. In accordance with their decision, Amber was required to make a $15 million defamation payment to Johnny, which was made comprised of $5 million in punitive damages and $10 million in compensatory damages. Due to Virginia’s cap on punitive damages, the $5 million in punitive penalties was immediately lowered to $350,000.It’s interesting that $2 million in partial liabilities were granted to Amber.
Amber’s legal expenses, which have almost definitely cost millions of dollars, have so far been covered by her insurance thanks to a homes insurance umbrella policy, claims Eriq Gardner from Puck News.
Spousal Support
After divorcing Johnny Depp, Amber Heard submitted a spousal support claim in 2016. The 2022 defamation lawsuit’s court documents state that in May 2016, Amber’s attorneys proposed to “keep this matter out of the spotlight” in exchange for Johnny allowing her to continue using a Range Rover, residing in three of his Los Angeles penthouse apartments, and receiving $125,000 for legal and accounting costs.
According to reports, Amber requested from Depp $50,000 each month to meet various costs. According to court records, Heard said she spent $2,000 a month on eating out, $10,000 a month on pet supplies, and $10,000 a year on legal fees in addition to her monthly expenses of $10,000 for rent and $2,000 for eating out. Her allegation that she was making a meager income, which included $27,000 in royalties from numerous films, served as support for her endeavor.
She had a total income of $250,000 from her numerous activities in 2014, but documents also showed that she spent about $210,000 of that amount, giving her a net income of only $40,000 for the year. Amber Heard also provided documentation showing that at the time, her funds were only worth $25,000. Amber Heard eventually retracted her plea for spousal support.
Relationship After Divorce
Amber started dating Elon Musk, a billionaire, sometime in 2016, as she was getting divorced from Johnny Depp. They reportedly first connected in 2013 when he stopped by the “Machete Kills” set. In April 2017, they declared their romance. Later that year, they made their breakup official, although it appears they started dating again at the beginning of 2018.
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Amber Heard’s Net Worth And Earnings
American actress and model Amber Heard has $6 million dollar net worth.
Amber Heard made $10 million in total pre-tax income from all sources (salaries, endorsements) between 2013 and 2019 according to testimony provided during the Depp v. Heard mutual defamation cases. 2019 was her highest-earning year during that time when she made about $3 million.
In testimony, it was also discovered that Amber had a four-picture contract with Warner Brothers, as part of which she received $450,000 for her debut appearance in a studio film. She then received $1 million for her performance in Aquaman, the first. She has a contractual obligation to receive $2 million for the sequel and $3–4 million for a third Aquaman movie.
According to testimony, Amber received a salary of $1.8 million, or $200,000 per episode, to play the lead character on the nine-episode television series “The Stand.”
According to testimony, Amber had a $1.625 million, two-year contract with L’Oreal that gave the cosmetics firm a 20-day commitment to Amber.
The $10 million Dollar Judgement
As you probably already know, a Virginia jury found Amber guilty of defaming Johnny Depp in connection with the Op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post in 2018. Johnny was first given a $15 million verdict by the jury, which was made up of $5 million in punitive damages and $10 million in compensatory damages. In order to comply with Virginia law, which sets a cap on punitive penalties at $350,000, the punitive damages were swiftly reduced to that amount. The same jury gave $2 million to Amber. Overall, Amber owes Johnny $8.35 million in damages as a result.
Amber’s net worth was at $2.5 million before the judgment. Numerous stories claim that Amber’s homeowner’s insurance paid for the majority of her legal expenses up until the verdict.
It’s unclear as of this writing if her insurance would also pay the full damages. The damages can also be lessened if the case goes to appeal. Our impression is that Amber would have a difficult time paying for the losses if her insurance does not cover them.
On the morning of June 2, 2022, the day following the verdict, Savannah Guthrie of “The Today Show” directly questioned Amber’s attorney about whether Amber could afford to pay the judgment. Amber’s attorney said, “Oh no. Absolutely not.”
Amber’s potential next step is to appeal. Amber might have to deposit a bail for the entire $10.35 million judgment before starting an appeal, which, in accordance with her own attorney, she would not be able to do with her own resources.
Amber may also choose to file for bankruptcy if she is unable to pay the judgment and it is not covered by insurance. Although it’s likely that a bankruptcy filing wouldn’t affect the $10 million compensatory element of the damages because of a legal framework.
