Although he originally planned on being a rock musician, Depp’s 1984 debut in Nightmare on Elm Street led to his casting in 21 Jump Street, putting him on teen magazine covers everywhere.

Depp formed a close bond with director Tim Burton, who has cast him in some of his biggest films to date — Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and his latest project, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Depp's tour-de-force performance as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest grossed over $380 million at the box office and the versatile actor was nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe in late 2006.

After falling in love with a diverse assortment of women, including Winona Ryder, Kate Moss and Lori Allison (to whom he was married), Depp has settled into a long-term relationship with actress Vanessa Paradis, whom he’s dated since 1998. They have a daughter and son together, but no plans to marry.

Instead, the reclusive family lives quietly together in a village in France.