The Unspoken Truth Of Amber Heard
Whether one loves or detests a particular celebrity, it can be easy for fans (and haters) to assume they know everything about the person given the actor or artist's ultra-public status. However, away from the spotlight, celebs have private milestones, struggles, and hobbies just like everyone else.
A prime example of this is Amber Heard, whose name has become synonymous with her roles in popular films like "Aquaman" and "Pineapple Express" and her relationships with numerous high-profile individuals. Yet her real life is not necessarily consumed by her status as an undersea superhero or what the tabloids are penning about her.
Heard boasts a range of interests — from classic cars and books to firearms. She once struggled with publicly announcing herself as part of the LGBT community and has complicated feelings about acting despite appearing in a slew of projects over the years. Let's further discuss some underreported facts about the actor who occasionally answers to "Mera."
It was a big deal when she publicly came out as LGBT
Prior to making a name for herself as Angie Anderson in 2008's "Pineapple Express," Amber Heard considered herself part of the LGBT community. She attended protests, served as an activist, and was upfront about it to her family and friends. Therefore, in 2010, when Ellen DeGeneres inquired about her sexuality, Heard didn't hesitate to be honest about being bi. Little did she realize, given her newfound celebrity status, what a huge deal this was.
"I just answered honestly. I could tell by the look on this person's face it was a big deal. My poor publicist," she said in an interview republished by E! Online. "Then I realized the gravity of what I had done and why so many people — studio execs, agents, advisors — did not want this coming before my name. I became attached to a label. I've never seen myself defined by the person I'm with."
According to Heard, who was dating Tasya van Ree at the time, coming out impacted her career. Filmmakers were hesitant to hire her, out of fear she wouldn't be taken seriously in a straight female role. In fact, she was told that having "bisexual" attached to her name would end her time in Hollywood. Still, she was able to prove the doubters wrong. "I rolled my eyes at that. And I said, 'Watch me do it,'" she said. "And I did it."
She has a daughter named Oonagh
On July 1, 2021, Amber Heard went public with another rather shocking announcement: She had a daughter via surrogacy. In an Instagram post, she explained how she decided she wanted to have a child four years earlier but didn't like the idea of relying on a male partner to do so. Rather, she wanted to start a family on her own terms. "I now appreciate how radical it is for us as women to think about one of the most fundamental parts of our destinies in this way," she wrote. "I hope we arrive at a point in which it's normalized to not want a ring in order to have a crib."
Oonagh Paige Heard, who was born on April 8, 2021, occasionally makes appearances on her mom's social media pages, including a post from July 16 of that year that shows the actress working on her laptop while holding her daughter. She captioned the post, "I'm just the mom and the dad. She's the boss."
The middle name Paige has been speculated as being in memory of Heard's late mother Paige Heard, who passed away in 2020. She wrote on Instagram at the time, "She left us too early, clasping onto the memory of her beautiful, gentle soul."
As of fall 2023, Heard and her daughter are living full-time in Madrid, Spain, where they're able to enjoy a stronger sense of privacy.
She owns guns and is trained on how to use them
David Heard, father of Amber Heard, didn't have any sons. Therefore, she was more than willing to let him teach her about his hobbies of fishing, camping, and hunting. The latter involved shotguns, and the actress became something of a gun expert. In fact, she once gushed about her favorite: a .357 Magnum. "I'm a good shot and I love guns — I own several," she told Daily Mail in 2010. She added, "I'm fully trained and I'm an active member of a gun club. I'm definitely pro-gun." Still, Heard stressed, there needs to be reform, as thousands die in the U.S. from gunshot wounds on a yearly basis.
Her dad embraced the idea of Heard sharing the same love as him. She told Jimmy Kimmel that, when she was about to embark on her journey from Texas to Hollywood at the age of 17, he gave her a rather special parting gift: "He very thoughtfully took out a pearl-handed .38 special and handed it to me and said, 'Hey baby girl, I got you a pretty one. It don't got a hammer, so you just pull it right out of your purse!'"
At the time of her Daily Mail interview in 2010, Heard had yet to welcome Oonagh into the world. As a childless individual, she shared that she slept with a gun close by in case she needed to protect herself, though this may have changed since 2021.
Amber Heard's atheism was hard for her Catholic parents to accept
Amber Heard may have picked up her father's love for shotguns, but she didn't feel compelled to stick with her parents' strict Catholicism. After a religious upbringing, Heard came to the conclusion when she got a little older that it simply wasn't for her.
"I didn't have an epiphany; it was a gradual process that took a lot of fighting and questioning and reading and research," she told Daily Mail. "My parents were upset; they didn't like that I asked questions — but that only propelled me to ask more. I explained that I don't need an external, omnipotent being with an eternal concept of punishment out there to tell me right from wrong."
With her parents' faith came a rocky road to them accepting Heard as part of the LGBT community. She recalled during the Making Change On and Off the Screen panel at SXSW in 2019 that when she informed them about her relationship with a woman, they struggled to come to terms with such information. However, they eventually accepted Heard as she is, and, five years later, drove to Dallas to see her accept an LGBT award. "And I see them sitting front and center and here I am getting this 'gay' award ... My parents in five years, look at the journey. Attitudes and hearts can change."
She lied about her age to secure money for headshots
Amber Heard never saw herself staying in the small Texas town of Manor for long. She dreamed of escaping to something bigger, which is why she stretched the truth a bit regarding her age. Money was needed for headshots and other necessities to break into the industry, but not much could be done at the age of 13. Heard lied about how old she was in order to land a slew of jobs, from a lifeguard to a cleaner. She secured those headshots and was living in Los Angeles, California, by the age of 17.
"I was determined to do something and to see something and to use my voice, and to experience as much of the world as I could," she told Marie Claire. "When I was in Texas, people would say, 'Don't do this, it's crazy.' I didn't have anything to lose. I didn't care."
Heard may have falsified her age to get a foot in the entertainment industry door, but it worked out for the best. By 2006, she landed the leading role in "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane," a slasher flick about mysterious deaths at a high school party. The film got decent reviews and put Heard's name out there as someone who could hold her own on screen.
She has the most beautiful face possible, according to 'science'
Over the years, Amber Heard has been recognized on numerous occasions for both her work on-screen (She was a Teen Choice Award nominee for choice sci-fi-fantasy movie actress in 2019) and with the LGBT community (she was honored at the Emery Awards in 2019). Additionally, she's also been recognized as having the most beautiful face in the world by a specialist who claims that his methods for determining beauty are objective and scientific.
According to plastic surgeon Dr. Julian De Silva, the golden ratio — the Greek number of Phi (1.618) — is key in determining such a claim. "The Greeks discovered that the ratio occurs everywhere in nature, and for thousands of years, it has been thought to hold the secret formula of the world's most beautiful faces," De Silva told US Weekly.
Thanks to computer mapping software, De Silva was able to utilize the golden ratio to rank female celebrities. The study says of Heard that her "eyes, eyebrows, nose, lips, chin, jaw and facial shape were measured and 12 key marker points were analyzed and found to be 91.85 percent of the Greek ratio of Phi." Runners-up included Kim Kardashian and Kate Moss.
Still, Heard doesn't want to be just another pretty face ... even if it's the prettiest one. She told Vogue, "I am constantly struggling to show people that there is more to me than my appearance. You do have to try and overcome those hurdles. Female actresses need to be given the chance to be more than how they look."
She's a classic car aficionado
In addition to guns, David Heard instilled another passion in his daughter: A love for classic cars. Amber Heard told Daily Mail, "My '68 Mustang is my favorite. I love cars that have character, and I've had a number of them, including a '63 Checker and a '67 Mercedes." Additionally, she knows how to take care of them, and even how to hotwire. "My dad taught me enough about cars so that I'd never have to ask a man on the side of the road for help."
However, owning her '68 Mustang hasn't been easy. Since purchasing it when she first arrived in Los Angeles as an aspiring actress, the car has been stolen a handful of times. Though the car has always been found, Heard usually has to do some repairs once it's returned from its joyride.
In 2015, Heard was made to believe the car was stolen yet again, but it was actually receiving a complete makeover on the show "Overhaulin'." The mustang was painted cherry red, and the final result left Heard in disbelief, exclaiming, "I'm blown away! I'm speechless. I can't believe all of this."
She has a love-hate relationship with acting
Amber Heard may have gone to great lengths to get herself to Los Angeles and launch a career in the entertainment industry, but sometimes, it isn't all that it's cracked up to be. She told Marie Claire, "I have a love-hate relationship with [acting] still to this day." There are a few reasons for this, one being Heard's dislike of seeing herself on screen. She explained to Interview, "It's just like the feeling you get when you hear yourself on an answering machine but multiplied by 100 in terms of that gut-wrenching sensation of embarrassment."
Additionally, there's the hurdle of social media and trying to maintain a sense of privacy in a world of posts, likes, and shares. This has been challenging over the past few years, as Heard's name has become largely associated with a profoundly nasty falling out with her famous ex-husband. Despite her sometimes-negative feelings toward fame and the industry, she doesn't want people to forget what she's accomplished.
She told Deadline, "It might not be obvious to other people, but I've been acting my whole adult life, since I was 16. As crazy as it sounds, that means I have decades in this industry. I'm not telling you I have this amazing film career, but what I have is something that I've made, myself, and it has given me a lot to be able to contribute. ... What I have been through, what I've lived through, doesn't make my career at all."
She's a proud bookworm
Amber Heard may have a hectic schedule, whether she's filming a new movie or serving as an LGBT activist, but she makes sure to set some time aside for another love — reading. On a fairly regular basis, Heard shares what books she's delving into on Instagram. These have included "The Properties of Perpetual Light" by Julian Aguon to "Jerusalem: The Biography" by Simon Sebag Montefiore.
In fact, Goodreads put together an entire list of books — 34 to be exact — that Heard has either been seen reading, promoted on her social media, or discussed in interviews. Some of these include "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain and "Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World" by Srdja Popovic.
She also enjoys adding more to her collection. In May 2023, she was spotted looking extremely happy while doing some serious shopping at a Madrid book fair, which she left carrying three tote bags filled with books.
She's on good terms with ex Elon Musk, despite some hurdles
Amber Heard and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk began sparking romance rumors in 2016, four years after Musk allegedly requested to meet Heard via email. They went Instagram official in April 2017, though by August of that same year, they announced their break-up. At the time, busy schedules were largely to blame, with Musk posting, "Although Amber and I did break up, we are still friends, remain close and love one another. Long distance relationships, when both partners have intense work obligations, are always difficult, but who knows what the future holds."
The future, it seems, held some shocking revelations thanks to Musk's biography by Walter Isaacson. The mogul describes his relationship with Heard as brutal in the book, but despite these allegations, there doesn't appear to be any hostility between the two. In the biography, Heard said, "I love him very much. Elon loves fire, and sometimes it burns him." As for Musk, he sent well wishes to both Heard and Johnny Depp on X during their defamation trial in 2022: "At their best, they are each incredible."
She almost turned down her 'Aquaman' role
"Aquaman" may have raked in $1.152 billion at the box office upon its release in 2018, but Amber Heard almost wasn't part of its success. Prior to landing the role of Mera, she was completely unfamiliar with the world of DC Comics and superheroes, and nearly avoided the part due to her lack of knowledge.
"I kind of thought maybe they called the wrong actress. I was like, 'Are you sure?' And when I opened the comic book and met her — where she lives — I realized why. It's a strong, bad***, kick***, fierce warrior superhero in her own right," Heard told Screen Rant.
Heard particularly enjoyed the fact that it's Mera who transforms Arthur (Jason Momoa) into Aquaman, and hopes that there will be more female superheroes in the future. This way, women of all generations can feel inspired to be strong and powerful, just like Mera did for Heard.
She settled a defamation lawsuit in summer 2023
In 2016, after spending a little over a year married to Johnny Depp, Amber Heard filed for divorce from the actor, claiming he was verbally and physically abusive toward her. Two years later, she penned an op-ed for The Washington Post, in which she says, "I became a public figure representing domestic abuse...," without mentioning Depp's name. Many, including Depp, felt it was implied that she was referring to him. In turn, he sued Heard for defamation, the trial for which spanned six weeks in spring 2022.
The jury decided that Heard would have to pay her ex-husband $10.35 million, while she'd receive $2 million. Depp, however, agreed in December of the same year to settle for $1 million. Exactly one year later, Heard paid the $1 million, which is expected to be donated by Depp to several charities. Heard said in a statement, "Now I finally have an opportunity to emancipate myself from something I attempted to leave over six years ago and on terms I can agree to."
Still, she stressed that her settling with Depp shouldn't be seen as an admission of wrongdoing, nor of concession. She added, "I cannot afford to risk an impossible bill — one that is not just financial, but also psychological, physical and emotional. Women shouldn't have to face abuse or bankruptcy for speaking her truth, but unfortunately it is not uncommon."
A line from In the Fire was almost cut due to its meme-ability
Amber Heard continues to land leading roles in films, with one of her most recent being 2023's "In the Fire." In it, she portrays Grace Burnham, a New York doctor in the 1890s determined to treat a boy who may be possessed by the devil. It's her first major project after the defamation trial, and director Conor Allyn wanted to take precautions to not negatively affect her already-shaky public persona.
In fact, Allyn debated nixing one "In the Fire" moment that shows a hypnotized Grace saying, "I'm a fraud." He told Rolling Stone, "Even at that time, I was like 'F***, that sounds like a meme. But should I cut this scene because maybe some a******* will use it on the internet? I think we just made the best version of the movie that we could."
Also, according to Allyn, Heard shares some similarities with the character of Grace, whose determination to tell the truth gets her physically beaten in public. He said of Heard, "I see a fearless truth-teller whose convictions have gotten her the 2022-23 version of that, which is getting dragged through social media on a global, epic scale."