In 2022, actress Amber Heard's personal life was put on very public display during a massively televised defamation trial between herself and her ex-husband, actor Johnny Depp. Now, a new hit Netflix docuseries, Depp v. Heard, explores the trial using side-by-side testimonies and tapes from the courtroom. The three-part doc also touches on the immense public attention the trial received, and the backlash Heard faced online.
Depp and Heard were married in February of 2015, but she quickly filed for divorce in 2016, and filed a restraining order at the same time, alleging that he was physically and verbally abusive, which Depp denied. By 2017, they reached a settlement, with Depp paying Heard $7 million, which she gave to charity, per Esquire.
In 2018, Heard penned a newspaper op-ed for the Wall Street Journal claiming she was the victim of abuse. Depp subsequently alleged that she had defamed him in the article. When the case went to trial, the jury found Heard liable for defamation, and found that one statement by Depp's former attorney defamed Heard. She was ordered to pay compensatory and punitive damages to Depp, per CNN. And while both parties tried to appeal the verdict, they finally agreed to drop their appeals in December of 2022, and Heard paid Depp $1 million to settle all claims.
Whether you’ve seen the docuseries, caught the trailer, or are just curious to know more about the actress at the center of this viral trial, it’s only natural to wonder where Amber Heard is now. Here’s what to know about what she's been doing since the verdict came down:
What happened during the Depp v. Heard trial?
In June 2022, the jury found that Heard had defamed Depp, and that her statements were made with "actual malice," Courthouse News reported. She was ordered to pay Depp $10.3 million in damages.
However, the jury also found that Depp had defamed Heard after one of his former lawyers made a statement to a tabloid suggesting Heard wrecked the couple’s penthouse, but blamed Depp for the damage instead, per The New York Times. So, Depp was also ordered to pay Heard $2 million, per CNN.
After the trial, Heard stood by her allegations of physical and sexual abuse by Johnny Depp, which he denied. She said in an Instagram statement that the verdict was a “very difficult decision,” noting that “my life as I knew it was destroyed” in the trial.
What did she end up paying Depp?
Both parties appealed the verdict, and Heard did not actually end up paying Depp the full $10.3 million. Instead, Depp agreed in December of that year to accept a $1 million payout from Heard to settle the case, People reported. But according to one of the outlet's sources, Depp allegedly gave the money to five charities, which included Make-A-Film Foundation, The Painted Turtle, Red Feather, Tetiaroa Society, and Amazonia Fund Alliance.
Where is Amber Heard now?
After the trial, in the summer of 2022, Heard moved from California to Spain, selling her home in Yucca Valley for roughly $1.05 million, according to the New York Post. At first, she rented a home in Mallorca, before officially relocating to Madrid, per The Independent.
In Mallorca, Esquire reports that Heard actually changed her name to Martha Jane Cannary, which is a nod to famous western frontierswoman, Calamity Jane. These days, she and her young daughter, Oonagh Paige, live a relatively quite life.
The outlet said that when asked by Spanish reporters about her new life in the country, Heard replied in Spanish: “I love Spain, so much.” And with regards to her plans to stay in Madrid, she responded, “Yes, I hope so. Yes, yes, I love living here.”
She also seems excited to get back into acting, writing that she was “so touched” by the reception of her latest movie.
Is she still acting?
Yes, despite relocating overseas, Heard is still acting. She appeared in the 2023 thriller In the Fire, according to IMDB. She’s also in post-production for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the second Aquaman film, but she doesn’t have any other projects listed on her IMDB profile.
Earlier this year, Heard told Deadline that she plans to keep on acting. “What I have been through, what I’ve lived through, doesn’t make my career at all. And it’s certainly not gonna stop my career,” she said. “I just want to make movies and be appreciated as an actress. I don’t want to have to be crucified to be appreciated as one.”
Heard has a 2-year-old daughter.
The actress only has one child, Oonagh Paige, who was born April 8, 2021. Heard didn't tell the world about her daughter until three months after her birth, though.
“Four years ago, I decided I wanted to have a child. I wanted to do it on my own terms. I now appreciate how radical it is for us as women to think about one of the most fundamental parts of our destinies in this way,” she captioned an Instagram shot of herself cuddling with her daughter in July 2021. While she hasn't confirmed if she used a surrogate to conceive Oonaugh, outlets like People think her caption alluded to this idea.
The post continued: “I hope we arrive at a point in which it’s normalized to not want a ring in order to have a crib. A part of me wants to uphold that my private life is none of anyone’s business. I also get that the nature of my job compels me to take control of this. My daughter was born on April 8, 2021. Her name is Oonagh Paige Heard. She’s the beginning of the rest of my life.”
While Heard hasn't posted pics of her daughter in a while, the two look like they have gone on lots of fun adventures together.
For more details on the trial, you can watch Depp v. Heard, streaming now on Netflix.
