Johnny Depp’s Mother, Betty Sue Palmer, Dies At 81
Johnny Depp’s mother, Betty Sue Palmer, died on May 20 at the age of 81.
In 2012, Betty Sue was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for an undisclosed illness. Johnny Depp quickly rushed to the hospital to be by his mother’s side. In 2014, Johnny was spotted in West Hollywood having dinner with Amber Heard and his mother, who was described as looking “sickly.” As of writing, there are no reports of Betty Sue Palmer’s cause of death.
Johnny Depp is the youngest of four siblings, and he was raised by his mother Betty Sue after she and Johnny’s father divorced when Johnny was 15-years-old.
Growing up, Johnny Depp’s family didn’t have a lot of money. Betty Sue worked as a waitress and Johnny said that she would count “nickels and pennies and dimes at the end of the night.”
Johnny always had a close relationship with his mother, often bringing her to red carpet events and awards shows. In fact, according to ET Online, Johnny brought Betty Sue as her date at the Academy Awards in 2004 when he was nominated for Best Actor for his movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2013, Johnny Depp talked about Betty Sue Palmer’s life.
“My mother was raised in a shack, in the wilds of Appalachia, where the toilet was an outhouse. She used to say she did the same things that her mom did — and her mom certainly didn’t know any better.”
It seems that Johnny Depp also got his toughness from Betty Sue, as he shared in a press conference for his 2015 movie Black Mass, according to People. Johnny remembered the time when he was about six-years-old and was dealing with a bully at school. He told his mom about the bully, and Betty Sue gave Johnny some good advice.
“I come from nothing but hillbillies, and my mom said to me, ‘All right here’s the deal, next time anybody puts their hands on you, pick up a brick and lay them out.'”
Johnny took Betty Sue’s advice because he said “it worked” for him. In addition, he also follows that advice when it comes to his children. “If somebody tried to bully my kid, if they didn’t destroy the little booger, I would,” Johnny said.
It’s clear that Johnny had a very good relationship with Betty Sue. In fact, in an interview with a journalist in 1989, Johnny described Betty Sue and said the following.
“She’s the greatest lady in the world. Best friend, coolest thing.”
As a tribute to his mother, Johnny had her name “Betty Sue” tattooed on his upper left arm in 1988. Betty Sue’s name is inside a heart, which is enclosed with tribal markings.
Meanwhile, while Johnny Depp is grieving the loss of his mother, his wife of 15 months, Amber Heard, filed for divorce at the Los Angeles Superior Court and cited the cause as irreconcilable differences. Heard is also seeking spousal support from the 52-year-old actor. Amber and Johnny do not have a prenup agreement, and Depp has asked the judge to reject Heard’s claim of spousal support.
Amber Heard has filed for divorce from Johnny Depp, according to documents obtained by CNN https://t.co/Vd2ktAqXg5 pic.twitter.com/hpNXOQy6u1
— CNN (@CNN) May 26, 2016
[Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images]
