Johnny Depp is opening up about the quiet life he once lived with ex-partner Vanessa Paradis while raising their two children in the south of France.
In a new interview with The Sunday Times, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor got emotional when asked about parenting Lily-Rose Depp and Jack Depp away from the spotlight.
Depp, now 62, pointed to an unfinished portrait of his daughter, Lily-Rose, hanging behind him during the interview. “She was 10 then and 25 now,” he said, reflecting on the passage of time. “Years get away from us, don’t they?” he added. “I’m of the empty-nest syndrome.”
Johnny and French singer-actress Vanessa Paradis share two children, Lily-Rose, born in 1999, and Jack, born in 2002. The couple split in 2012 after 14 years together but chose to raise their children outside of Hollywood in a private estate near St. Tropez. Depp bought the home in 2001, and it quickly became the family’s primary base.
“Oh man, my kids growing up in the south of France in their youth?” Johnny said when asked what he misses most. He continued, “I was Papa. I cannot tell you how much I loved being Papa. Then, suddenly, Papa was out the window. I was Dad.” Still, he joked, “Papa was awesome, and I’m getting old enough for Papa to possibly come back. Some motherf—–’s going to have to call me Papa!”
Though he no longer spends much time in the U.S., splitting his life now between the U.K. and the Bahamas, Depp said that France remains the one place that ever truly felt like home. “Truly, the first time I felt I had a home was the place in the south of France where Vanessa and I raised the kiddies.”
Vanessa Paradis had her own reasons for picking France over Los Angeles. In a 2007 interview with Belgium’s Weekend Knack magazine, she revealed, “For my children, I secretly choose France. Even though Los Angeles is great too.” She explained, “Only in the south of France can you live much more anonymously. And that’s a bliss, especially when the children are still young.” She also said they raised their children bilingually so they could comfortably move between both worlds.
Today, Lily-Rose is a rising model and actress, while Jack largely stays out of the spotlight. Still, Johnny’s recent interview made it clear that he holds those parenting years close to his heart. While reflecting on what “home” means, Depp made no mention of Hollywood or the U.S., just that quiet life in France with his young family.
Despite their breakup, both Depp and Paradis have continued co-parenting with a focus on privacy. And now, with his kids grown up and living their own lives, Johnny seems to be navigating what it means to be a parent from a distance. But one thing’s certain, he still wouldn’t mind hearing “Papa” again.
