Why Johnny Depp’s Daughter Lily-Rose Depp Inspired Him to Donate $1.5 Million to a London Hospital
Johnny Depp reportedly lost vast amounts of his fortune due to mismanagement and lavish spending. His 2022 defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard stems from Heard’s op-ed, in which she claimed abuse without naming Depp. He says it cost him several movie roles, including a multi-million dollar payday when Disney dropped him from Pirates of the Caribbean 6. He might have money troubles now, but Depp once donated millions to a London hospital because of his daughter, Lily-Rose Depp, and that wasn’t the only generous move he made with his fortune.
An infection and kidney failure hospitalized Lily-Rose Depp
It can happen to anyone, and it happened to Lily-Rose Depp in 2007.
While Depp shot Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in England, Lily-Rose Depp, the actor’s daughter with then-partner Vanessa Paradis, became poisoned with E. Coli. The infection spread to her kidneys, and she was hospitalized for nine days at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London as her kidneys started to fail, per the Daily Mail.
Depp said the experience was “[The most frightening thing we have ever been through. It was hell,” reported the Daily Mail in 2007. “But the magic is that she pulled through beautifully. Great Ormond Street was terrific, a great hospital.”
Depp’s kind words weren’t just lip service. A year later, he put his money where his mouth was with a $1.5 million donation.
Johnny Depp donated $1.5 million to Great Ormond Street and partied with doctors and nurses as a thank you
A year after Lily-Rose’s frightening fight with E. Coli, Depp made sure the hospital and doctors realized just how thankful he was to them for helping her pull through.
Depp donated £1 million to Great Ormond Street in 2008, per the Daily Mail. Based on exchange rates at the time (from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), Depp’s donation equated to more than $1.5 million. Disney, which produces the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, contributed a £10 million gift, the Daily Mail reported.
Depp’s kindness didn’t stop with his donation. He invited a team of doctors and nurses to a party for the London premiere of Sweeney Todd, and he donned his Jack Sparrow costume and spent hours telling stories to patients.
Depp’s donation was hardly a one-off.
Depp used some of his net worth to help film crews and a co-star’s daughter
Depp’s $100 million net worth could look quite different once his legal proceedings end, but that doesn’t change the fact that Depp has been very generous with his fortune in the past.
In addition to Depp’s donation to Great Ormond Street Hospital, he spent $60,000 of his money to provide waterproof jackets to 500 crew members on the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides set.
Depp donated his entire salary from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus to the daughter of co-star Heath Ledger, who died during filming. The amount wasn’t known, but Depp made the movie during his mid-2000s peak, so the payday realistically could have been in the millions.
His financial situation might not always be stable, but Depp’s donations and selfless spending show he can be very charitable with his money.
How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.
