Lily Rose-Depp turns 25 today. The French American actress is the firstborn daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, who were together between 1998 and 2012.
For much of Lily’s childhood, her celebrity parents tried to keep her away from the spotlight, with Vanessa explaining in a 2007 interview to Weekend Knack: “Now I indeed keep them away from the cameras because I don’t want our children to be forced to share in our fame against their will. They didn’t ask for that. Not yet.” The French American singer and actress added, “The day that they will decide for themselves to do things that might bring them into the spotlights, then I won’t stop them.”
Well, as Lily-Rose grew older, she began opening up about her upbringing herself, saying in multiple interviews that her famous parents tried their best to give her as normal a childhood as possible.
As for the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, he said he is always going to be protective of his daughter despite her age, telling the Daily Mail in 2015, “No matter how grown-up she gets, I’ll never stop worrying about her. It’s a father-daughter thing.”
Scroll down to explore more about Lily-Rose Depp’s parents, including her relationship with both of them.
Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis met for the first time in 1998
Johnny and Vanessa first crossed paths in 1998 when the former was shooting for The Ninth Gate in France. Depp recalled first laying eyes on Paradis while speaking to Daily Mail in 2011.
“It was the Hôtel Costes,” he told the publication. “She was wearing a dress with an exposed back and I saw that back and that neck, and then she turned around and I saw those eyes, and boom! My life as a single man was done.”
Vanessa, later speaking to Elle UK said, “We were in two different worlds — him in America, me in France — but we had friends in common.”
“We saw each other sometimes over four years,” she added. “But then, the day we found each other in Paris, we were in the same world and free and it was just instant. There was no more time to waste — just no way around it.”
Despite being together for more than a decade, Vanessa and Depp never got married
Johnny and Vanessa were together for fourteen years before their very high-profile 2012 breakup, however, despite being together for such a long period and starting a family, the couple never said wedding vows.
“Each summer people say we’re supposed to be getting married, but we don’t talk about it that much,” Vanessa told Elle UK. “He’s got me, and he knows he’s got me. I love the romance of ‘let’s get married,’ but then when you have it so perfect…I mean, I’m more married than anybody can be – we have two kids. Maybe one day, but it’s something I can really do without.”
Besides Lily-Rose, Depp and Vanessa are also parents to Jack
Johnny and Vanessa welcomed their first child, daughter Lily-Rose Melody, within the first year of dating.
Johnny later told Vanity Fair he played a Keith Richards piano cover of Hoagy Carmeichael’s classic The Nearness of You from a boombox when Vanessa was giving birth. “This is her birth song,” the actor told the outlet in 2009. “She arrived to this, man.”
In 2002, their son Jack, full name: Christopher Jack Depp III, was born.
When asked where she prefers to live and bring up her children, Vanessa in 2007 noted to a Belgian publication: “For my children I secretly chose France. Even though Los Angeles is great too.”
“We raise them bi-lingual anyway, so for them, it doesn’t really matter. Only, in the South of France you can live much more anonymously. And that’s a bliss, especially when the children are still young,” she added.
Johnny is proud of his relationship with Lily-Rose
Johnny is particularly proud of his relationship with his daughter. The Black Mass actor has praised her in numerous interviews since she was a kid.
“Lily’s really together,” he told the Daily Mail in 2015. “She’s a sharp kid and one of the smartest human beings I have ever met.”
“Whatever she is doing, if she needs any advice, I’m there for her,” the actor told the publication. “Kids are going to make their own decisions, but I guess that the only thing you can do as a parent is to offer support. And I do.”
In 2015, when Lily Rose revealed she saw herself as sexually fluid, Depp supported his little girl in every way he could, telling the Daily Mail he wasn’t surprised by the fact.
“Not me. I already knew because she tells me everything. She’s not afraid to say anything to me. We’re super tight and I’m very proud of our relationship,” he gushed.
Johnny has tattoos in honor of his kids
In dedication to Lily-Rose, Johnny Depp has her name tattooed over his chest. He proudly showed off the ink at a press conference during the Kustendorf Film and Music Festival in Serbia in 2010.
Johnny’s body art in favor of his son Jack features a flying sparrow with his name written underneath it on his right forearm. Some might also say the tattoo is a nod to his character Capt. Jack Sparrow, who sported an almost identical tattoo in Pirates of the Caribbean.
Johnny and Vanessa have been supportive of Lily’s acting career
When Lily Rose was still young, Vanessa opened up to Weekend Knack about whether she’d like her kids to pursue a career in show biz.
“Well. I don’t know,” the actress told the outlet in September 2007. “I presume I would support them.” However, Depp, on the other hand, has always been vocal about his concerns over his children following in his footsteps in Hollywood.
“Her [Lily] becoming an actress was never my dream or desire for her, but that’s what she enjoys doing,” Johnny said of Lily-Rose to the Daily Mail, adding, “It’s her passion and it’s where she ended up. And she’s got the goods – she can certainly deliver.”
Johnny Depp and Vanessa broke up when Lily-Rose was 13
Johnny and Vanessa “amicably separated” in June 2012 and requested privacy for the family.
Lily-Rose was 13 when her parents parted ways but despite their breakup, she told Harper Bazaar in 2023 that her teen years were as smooth as it could be.
“My parents weren’t very strict,” she told the publication “They’ve always trusted me to be independent and make my own decisions. There wasn’t anything to rebel against.”
While Vanessa kept things under wraps post their split, Johnny opened up about parenting in light of their separation in 2013. Speaking with Rolling Stone, the actor said that their kids have “been incredibly understanding, incredibly strong throughout the whole ordeal.”
“And it’s hard on every side. You know, Vanessa’s side, certainly not easy. My side, not easy. The kids are the most complicated,” he added.
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