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Amber Heard
Heard in Paris at a The Rum Diary premiere, November 2011
Born	Amber Laura Heard (1986-04-22) April 22, 1986 (age 38) Austin, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actress, model
Years active	2004–present
Website	amberheardofficial.com

Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress and model. Heard made her film debut in an acclaimed sports drama Friday Night Lights, starring Billy Bob Thornton. After small roles in North Country and Alpha Dog, Heard played her first leading role in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane and appeared in The CW television show Hidden Palms.

Her breakthrough came in 2008 with roles in Never Back Down and Pineapple Express. She was awarded with Breakthrough Award at Young Hollywood Awards. She got widespread attention after her appearance in films such as The Informers, The Stepfather, Zombieland and The Joneses. 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 Hollywood Film Festival. Her recent films include Paranoia, Machete Kills and 3 Days to Kill.

Regarded as a sex symbol, Heard often appears in magazines' Most Beautiful and Sexiest lists. She is also involved in social activism for causes such as gay rights and abolishing slavery, and is a supporter of Habitat for Humanity, Girl Up United Nations Foundation, The Art of Elysium and Amnesty International.

Early life

Heard was born and raised in Austin, Texas. Her father, David, is a contractor, and her mother, Paige (née Parsons), is an internet researcher for the state. She attended St. Michael's Catholic Academy in Austin until her junior year, when she left to pursue a career in Hollywood. As a teenager, Heard was active in her school's drama department and appeared in local commercials and campaigns. At the age of 16, her best friend died in a car crash and Heard, who was raised Catholic, subsequently declared herself an atheist after being introduced to the works of Ayn Rand by her then-boyfriend. She has said of Rand, "I've read all of her books. Ever since then, I have been obsessed with her ideals. All I've ever needed is myself." Dropping out of school at the age of 17, she went to New York to start a career in modeling, then relocated to Los Angeles to get into acting.

Career

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While in Los Angeles, Heard made appearances in several TV shows and two music videos, Kenny Chesney's "There Goes My Life" and Eisley's "I Wasn't Prepared". She was cast as Liz in the pilot episode of The WB's Jack & Bobby (2004), as Riley in an episode of The Mountain (2004) and she had a brief cameo as a salesgirl in The O.C. (2005). Her first movie role was Maria in Friday Night Lights (2004). She next starred as Shay in Side FX (2005), an independent horror film, and had supporting roles in Drop Dead Sexy (2005), Price to Pay (2006) and You Are Here (2006). Heard had more prominent roles in Niki Caro's North Country (2005) and in Nick Cassavetes' Alpha Dog (2006). In 2006, she starred in an episode of Criminal Minds as Lila Archer, a love interest of main character Spencer Reid.

Heard was next cast in the CW's Hidden Palms. On the show she portrayed Greta Matthews, who suffered the losses of both her mother and boyfriend, Eddie, and befriends Johnny, the antihero of the show. In order to get the part, Heard was asked to lose weight. It took her four months between the pilot and the second episode to lose 25 pounds, giving up alcohol, increasing her workouts and following a macrobiotic diet (no meat, dairy or processed sugar). Hidden Palms premiered in the US on May 30, 2007. Ultimately, the CW wrapped the summer series early; instead of the initial 12-episode arc, only 8 were aired. The show ended on July 4, 2007 two weeks earlier than originally planned.

She was cast in the title role in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, a horror film that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2006. The film immediately garnered attention and a deal was secured with Harvey Weinstein. However, nearly a year after its Toronto début, the movie had not reached theaters. In July 2007, Mandy Lane found a new distribution home and the film finally was released in 2008 with a February UK release and June DVD release.

In 2007, Heard also appeared in the 16-minute-long short movie Day 73 with Sarah and Jess Manafort's indie drama Remember the Daze (aka The Beautiful Ordinary), which premiered at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival. She then appeared in the Judd Apatow-produced comedy Pineapple Express and the martial arts drama Never Back Down, both of which were released in 2008.

Heard also made a brief appearance in Showtime's Californication and joined the ensemble cast of 2009's The Informers, based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same title. She also filmed the horror film The Stepfather and the comedy film Ex-Terminators back-to-back in 2008 while promoting Never Back Down, Mandy Lane and Remember the Daze.

In late 2008, she filmed The River Why and The Joneses; two independent features. At the beginning of 2009, The Informers made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The reviews from critics were mostly negative. Heard next appeared in Zombieland, playing a small role as the object of Jesse Eisenberg’s affection who turns into a zombie. She subsequently appeared in John Carpenter's The Ward. In March, Heard began filming The Rum Diary, opposite Johnny Depp, in Puerto Rico. Heard was reported to have won the role out over Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley. In 2010, she starred in and produced And Soon the Darkness, co-starring Odette Yustman and Karl Urban.

In the October 2009 issue of Teen Vogue, Amber described her role as Johnny Depp's love interest in the film, The Rum Diary, as "the best experience of my life." In February 2010, Heard was cast in Drive Angry, a 3-D action thriller directed by Patrick Lussier and released in February 2011. In February 2011, she appeared on Top Gear in the UK. She talked about her love of guns and muscle cars, and revealed that she used to line-dance in Texas bars.

She co-starred in the 2013 films Machete Kills and Paranoia. In August 2012, Heard was in talks to replace Kristen Stewart, who abruptly dropped out in Nick Cassavetes' upcoming thriller Cali. Heard will play Mya, who goes along with her lover, played by Alex Pettyfer, in filming a fake snuff film. They make a lot of money and escape Los Angeles only to return a year later to try and rescue Mya’s sister from a group of suspected thugs.

Heard will also be starring in London Fields—costarring Jim Sturgess, Cara Delevingne, and Theo James—a film directed by newcomer Matthew Cullen. London Fields, in which Johnny Depp appears in a cameo role, is scheduled for release in 2014.

Personal life

Heard came out in 2010, at GLAAD's 25th anniversary event, but 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." At the aforementioned GLAAD event, she stated of her decision to come out: "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, tax paying 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 dated photographer Tasya van Ree. She met fellow actor Johnny Depp while filming The Rum Diary, and they have been dating since 2012. The couple became engaged on Christmas Eve in 2013.

Filmography

Television

Awards and nominations

Magazine rankings

References

1. "Amber Heard, sex symbol et femme fatale confirmée". Retrieved February 28, 2014.
2. FHM profile of Amber Heard
3. "Interview: Amber Heard at Stylist". Retrieved April 6, 2014.
4. Amber Heard to host Abolish Slavery Chairty Event
5. Ten Reasons of Why We Love Amber Heard - Entertainment Daily
6. ^ William Keck (May 30, 2007). "Amber Heard will be heard". USA Today.
7. "Day 73 With Sarah (2007)". The New York Times. 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
8. Pete Debruge (July 5, 2007). "Review: 'Remember the Daze'". Variety. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
9. "Amber Heard: The interview". FHM. Bauer Consumer Media Ltd. October 7, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
10. ^ Frosty (March 10, 2008). "Amber Heard Exclusive Video Interview – NEVER BACK DOWN". Collider.com. Collider.com. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
11. "A Hilarious Brief Chat with Amber Heard, Star of 'Stepfather' & 'Zombieland'". Bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
12. Amber Heard: In STEP With the Horror Genre
13. Nussbaum, Danielle. "Young Hollywood 2009". teenvogue.com. Archived from the original on November 18, 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
14. "William Fichtner and Amber Heard Ready to Drive Angry?". Dreadcentral.com. February 5, 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
15. "Amber Heard". tatler.com. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
16. Josh Grossberg (November 7, 2013). "Johnny Depp Making Cameo in Amber Heard's Movie London Fields". Move That Matters. Move That Matters. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
17. ^ Halterman, J. (December 4, 2010). "EXCLUSIVE: Amber Heard talks about being out in Hollywood". AfterEllen.com. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
18. Lee, Joyce (December 6, 2010). "Amber Heard, "Pineapple Express" Actress, Comes Out as Lesbian". CBS News. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
19. "Amber Heard: I've dated men and now I'm in a relationship with a woman". Metro.co.uk. February 23, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
20. "Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Are Engaged!". Yahoo. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
21. Hodge, Chad T. (October 10, 2011). "7 episodes including the pilot". Twitter. Source confirmed to be Chad Hodge by NBC's official Twitter.
22. Benanti, Laura (October 10, 2011). "Only 7. There are 2 endings. One of which is more final". Twitter.
23. "Laura Benanti". Retrieved June 5, 2013.

External links

• Official website
• Amber Heard on Facebook
• Amber Heard at IMDb
• Template:Allrovi name
• Amber Heard at the TCM Movie Database

Template:Persondata

• 1986 births
• 21st-century American actresses
• Actresses from Austin, Texas
• American atheists
• American female models
• American film actresses
• American former Christians
• American television actresses
• Former Roman Catholics
• LGBT actresses
• LGBT entertainers from the United States
• LGBT models
• LGBT people from Texas
• Living people