Full Name: Amber Laura Heard Occupation: Actress / Model Date of Birth: April 22, 1986 Place of Birth: Austin, Texas, USA Age: 21 Height: 5' 8" Hair / Eyes: Blonde / Green Special skills: Proficient in American Sign Language, Spanish 3 student, dancing, horseback, lacrosse, swimming, varsity drama, certified lifeguard, rock climber, diver, and golfing.

001. Life in Austin 002. Early Career 003. Hidden Palms 004. Actress on the Rise 005. Quotes 006. Outro

 Life in Austin
Amber Laura Heard was born April 22, 1986. Born and raised in Austin, Texas by father David, a contractor, and mother Paige, an Internet researcher for the state, Amber embraced her school's drama department as a teenager and appeared in local commercials and campaigns. At the mere age of 16, Amber lost her best friend in a fatal car crash. It was this accident that changed Amber's outlook in life. "That was the hardest blow emotionally that I have ever had to endure. Suddenly, you realize tomorrow might not come. Now I live by the motto, 'Today is what I have.'" Heard, who was raised Catholic, now declared herself an atheist. After the tragic death of her friend, Heard met her first serious boyfriend, who introduced her to the writings of Russian-born atheist Ayn Rand. "I've read all of her books," says Heard. "Ever since then, I have been obsessed with her ideals. All I've ever needed is myself." Amber dropped out of St. Michael's Catholic Academy at the age of 17 and went to New York to start a career in modeling - but she did not enjoy it. "There's no real talent involved in modeling. Acting has substance." Hence she next located to Los Angeles to get into acting.

 Early Career
Once in Los Angeles, Amber Heard scored appearances in various TV shows. She was cast as Liz in the pilot episode of The WB's Jack & Bobby (2004), as Riley in an episode of The Mountain (2004) and she had a brief cameo as a salesgirl in The O.C. (2005). Her first movie role was Maria in Friday Night Lights (2004). "When I was on the set, just doing day-playing work, I remember thinking, 'This is what I want to do forever'", she said. "Knowing that with such certainty at 17 was just life-altering." She next starred as Shay in sideFX (2005), an independent horror flick and had supporting roles in Drop Dead Sexy (2005), Price to Pay (2006) and You Are Here (2006). Amber turned heads with more prominent parts in Niki Caro's North Country (2005) as young Josey (Charlize Theron in the adult form) and as Alma in Nick Cassavetes' Alpha Dog (2006). To play the part, Heard "tapped into a reckless, naive teenager. It was difficult to channel but I had to completely disconnect any humane aspects she had. I've known girls like her... You don't have a lot of sympathy for them." In 2006 Amber also starred as Lila in an episode of Criminal Minds.

 Hidden Palms
Amber was next cast in the CW Network's Hidden Palms. In it Amber portrayed the enigmatic free spirit Greta Matthews, who suffered the losses of both her mother and boyfriend, Eddie, and befriends Johnny, the anti-hero of the show. Despite her general dislike for the TV, Amber was immediately drawn to her character. "Greta is complicated," she says. "She's like I was when I was a teenager. It's why I relate to her." In order to get the part of Greta, Amber was asked to lose weight. It took her four months, daily workouts and a ban on carbs to lose 25 pounds. "At first I said no, but it's about the work. I cared about the project and the character, so I was willing to do it. It's called dedication." Hidden Palms premiered in the US on May 30, 2007. Unfortunately The CW wrapped the summer series early - instead of the initial 12 episode arch only eight were aired. The show sang its swan song on July 4 - two weeks prior than originally planned.

 Actress on the Rise
Amber was next cast in the title role in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane. The horror film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2006, immediately generating buzz and landing a seemingly great deal with Harvey Weinstein. However, nearly a year after its Toronto debut, the movie had not reached theaters. In July 2007 Mandy Lane found a new distribution home and the film will finally see daylight in 2008 with a February UK release.

In 2007 Heard also appeared in the short movie Day 73 with Sarah and indie drama The Beautiful Ordinary, which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June. She next filmed the Judd Apatow gang comedy The Pineapple Express and martial arts drama Never Back Down, both to be released in 2008, back to back. The latter will open in March and sees Amber Heard in the role of the free-spirited Baja Miller who falls for Sean Faris' Jake Tyler. Amber did a brief appearance for Showtime's Californication and joined the huge cast of The Informers, based on Bret Easton Ellis' novel of the same title. It will also be released in late 2008.

Amber is a talented rising actress with a variety of great roles already on her belt, and a passion to act. "I would just love to work in films for the rest of my life. I don't care about famous or about being anything like that. All I care about is living my life, being able to do what I love, working project to project, city to city, in films I believe in. That's the only way to live." Charismatic and stunningly beautiful, she is magnetic to watch. One thing is for certain - Amber Heard is a name to remember!

"I was raised in Austin, Texas and my parents put me through Catholic school my whole life and look at me now, mom and dad! Then I went to a private Catholic academy, a prep school. It was co-ed. I guess, when I was sixteen, I said 'I'm gonna go be an actress in Hollywood' and I came out here when I was 17-years-old and the rest is history, the rest you can look up."

"I think it's the (Catholic) education. I don't think there are many people who will argue with you about the quality of the education but, other than that, I think it's a very dangerous thing. School in America in general is conforming enough. We have a very, very strong tendency to fall into that conformity, very easily because it's the easiest path. I think it's dangerous to put a young girl in a Catholic school where they teach you to conform and dress the same and it effects your personal life after you leave that school. They're telling you how to live your life, morality; what to believe, what not to believe and that is scary. It's literally telling you 'don't think for yourself.'"

"I'm very lucky. I've always been a big fan of reading and books. I think the minute you pick up a book about world history or religious history; the minute you start to learn about other societies, other cultures, other religions and the history of the ones that have brought our world to what it is today, I think it's very easy to escape. But, not for most people because it's easy to just turn on the TV and watch American Idol."

"The industry is not an easy one but I'm in it for a reason and I'm not surprised by anything. You're a fool if you're surprised by this industry and I am a single woman in Hollywood and it is difficult. I'm not saying it's a walk in the park but this is something I've wanted my whole life and I'll be damned if I'm going to complain about it now."

"My father always encouraged me to be an actress. I guess, as a parent, you can look at your child and see what they are kind of prone to and I was that kid; I had a video camera when I was a child and filmed everything and organized plays and I was always on camera too. I would never just be behind the camera, hello! I would put myself in as the star. I did do the plays in high school before I dropped out and finished high school on my own. I fell in love with theater in high school and it was something that my parents really encouraged, probably up until the moment I said 'I'm gonna go do it tomorrow'. They've been great."

"My very best friend died in a car accident when I was 16 years old. That was the hardest blow emotionally that I have ever had to endure. Suddenly, you realize tomorrow might not come. Now I live by the motto, 'Today is what I have.'"

"It's hard being a woman in Hollywood because there's a lot of pressure to be things that are not natural. There's a lot of pressure to fill standards that are beyond you or just plain difficult. It's hard... Very hard, but that's the expectation placed upon you to be the hot young thing."

"I still had the body image of the girl being told to lose weight. It was very difficult to be placed in this position but, luckily, weight has never been a concern of mine. It's just a concern to other people."

"I would just love to work in films for the rest of my life. I don't care about famous or about being anything like that. All I care about is living my life, being able to do what I love, working project to project, city to city, in films I believe in. That's the only way to live."

"My whole life, there have been people expecting me to be a certain way because of how I look. They expect certain things of me, expect me to be of a certain intelligence. I'm constantly walking a tightrope between the kind of roles I want to play and the kind of roles I'm expected to play."

"You see all these girls who are trained to be pretty and nothing else. That's why I've looked for roles that are not the pretty, popular girls."