After seven years of drama, bad press, and legal trouble, it seems like Amber Heard is officially ditching Hollywood.
Professionally known for her work in Aquaman (2016) and its upcoming sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), as well as Pineapple Express (2008), Zombieland (2009), and Magic Mike XXL (2015), Heard’s name started cropping up more in the media after the dissolution of her marriage to Johnny Depp in 2016.
That same year, Heard alleged that she was a victim of domestic violence and filed for a restraining order against Depp. The pair’s divorce became official in 2017, with Depp filing a libel lawsuit against News Group Newspapers the following year when it described him as a “wife beater.”
While Depp lost his lawsuit, he later sued Heard herself in 2022 for defamation over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post about her position as a female victim of sexual violence and domestic abuse. Depp claimed that Heard herself was an abuser, Heard filed a counterclaim, and what resulted was one of the most publicized trials of the century – one that Depp ultimately won.
Since then, the internet has witnessed multiple #JusticeForJohnnyDepp movements as fans try to restore Depp’s career while simultaneously calling for Heard to lose her role of Meera in Aquaman.
Now, however, it seems like Heard is taking herself out of the Hollywood equation entirely. A report from the Daily Mail claims that Heard has quit Hollywood and moved to Spain.
“I can reveal that Heard has quit Hollywood and quietly relocated to Spain with her young daughter Oonagh,” the Daily Mail’s Alison Boshoff wrote on Thursday.
Having spoken to a friend of Heard’s, she explained: “She’s bilingual in Spanish and is happy there, raising her daughter away from all the noise.”
That inevitably means a pause in Heard’s acting career. As of May 2023, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and the currently-undated In the Fire are Heard’s only upcoming films, with both already in post-production.
However, that doesn’t mean she’s left Hollywood for good. The friend of Heard’s told Boshoff: “I don’t think she is in any hurry to return to work or to Hollywood, but she will probably come back when the time is right, for the right project.”
Rumors recently suggested that Heard had had conversations about starring in Margot Robbie’s female reboot of Pirates of the Caribbean. Could the “right project” see Heard stepping into Depp’s abandoned pirate boots? Keep a weather eye on the horizon.