Johnny Depp Might Have Never Gotten Into Acting If It Weren’t For His First Wife

We can’t even begin to imagine what the film industry would be like without Johnny Depp. The actor has been gracing the big screen for more than 30-years and has demonstrated such incredible acting range that he is now was one of the most successful — and highest-paid — actors in the world. 

But despite his spectacular acting chops, Depp initially didn’t see himself becoming an actor and instead wanted to be a rock star. But had it not been for his first wife, Lori Anne Allison, there’s a good chance Depp’s career might have never gotten off the ground.

Johnny Depp was married to Lori Anne Allison for two years

Long before Amber Heard entered his life and he found himself in a string of high-profile relationships with famous women, Depp was married to his first wife, Lori Anne Allison.

After dropping out of high school and starting a band called The Kids in the early 1980s, Depp met Allison, who was the band’s bassist’s sister.

The two instantly hit it off and wound up tying the knot in South Florida in December 1983, when Depp was just 20-years-old, and Allison was 25. 

Lori Anne Allison got Johnny Depp his first Hollywood audition

After moving to California to start their life together, both took various jobs to make ends meet while dreaming of stardom. While Allison found work as a makeup artist, Depp worked a telemarketer for a pen company. 

Eventually, Allison became a professional makeup artist and even made some famous friends, like Christina Applegate, along the way.

And it was through her celebrity connections, Allison became the key to Depp’s glittering Hollywood career.

After Allison introduced Depp to her friend, Nicolas Cage, the two men became good friends. Cage even managed to get Depp an audition for A Nightmare On Elm Street, which forever changed his life.

“I got the job. I was stupefied. They paid me all that money for a week. It was luck, an accident,” Depp told Playboy, per The Things. “I did it purely to pay the rent. I was literally filling out job applications at the same time, any kind of job. ‘Nic Cage said, ‘You should try being an actor. Maybe you are one and don’t know it.’ I began acting, and I thought, well, this is an interesting road; maybe I should keep traveling on it.”

Johnny Depp’s career took off

After appearing in A Nightmare on Elm Street, Depp landed his first starring role in the comedy Private Resort.

But as his career began to take off, the young actor’s marriage started to crumble. In 1985, Depp and Allison called it quits, citing irreconcilable differences in their divorce.

After their split, Depp continued furthering his acting career by starring in blockbusters such as Edward Scissorhands, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Donnie Brasco, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

He also began a long partnership with director Tim Burton, eventually appearing in eight of his films. 

Today, Depp is one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. And to think, had it not been for his ex-wife, he might have never become the successful actor we’ve all come to know and love.