John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. Depp is known as a leading man in films often playing eccentric characters. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and two BAFTA awards. His films have grossed over $8 billion worldwide, making him one of Hollywood's most bankable stars.[1][2][3][4] Depp started his career as a musician performing in several amateur rock bands before transitioning into film. Depp made his feature film debut in the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and appeared in Platoon (1986), before rising to prominence as a teen idol on the television series 21 Jump Street (1987–1990). He acted in independent films with auteur directors including Cry-Baby (1990), What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Benny and Joon (1993), Dead Man (1995), Donnie Brasco (1997), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), and The Ninth Gate (1999). Depp also began his longtime collaboration with the director Tim Burton, portraying the leads in the films Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007). Depp gained worldwide stardom for his role Captain Jack Sparrow in the Walt Disney swashbuckler film series Pirates of the Caribbean (2003–2017). He also acted in acclaim for Chocolat (2000), Blow (2001), Finding Neverland (2004) and Public Enemies (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Into the Woods (2014), Black Mass (2015), and Murder on the Orient Express (2017). Depp also portrayed as Gellert Grindelwald in the Wizarding World films Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018). Depp was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2003, an accolade he received again in 2009.[5] During the 2010s, Depp began producing films through his company Infinitum Nihil. He also starred in He formed the rock supergroup Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry. Between 1998 and 2012, Depp was in a relationship with the French singer Vanessa Paradis, with whom he had two children, including the actress Lily-Rose Depp. From 2015 to 2017, Depp was married to the actress Amber Heard. Their divorce drew media attention, as both alleged abuse against each other and both engaged in highly publicized defamation cases.[6]