The dark side of stardom: A superstar’s childhood of pain

Born in a small town in Kentucky as the youngest of four children, Depp was raised by a waitress mother and a civil engineer father. His childhood was marked by constant upheaval, with the family moving frequently before finally settling in Miramar, Florida, in 1970. Inside the house, however, stability never arrived.

“There was physical abuse, certainly, which could be in the form of an ashtray being flung at you… or you get beat with a high-heeled shoe or telephone—whatever was handy,” Depp once said. “So in our house, we were never exposed to any type of safety or security.”