Johnny Depp’s private island in the Bahamas is a slice of Caribbean heaven. Called Little Hall’s Pond Cay, it spans 45 acres of sheer natural beauty, with the 58-year-old star once dubbing it the most “pure and beautiful” place he’d ever been.
“I don’t think I’d ever seen any place so pure and beautiful. You can feel your pulse rate drop about 20 beats. It’s instant freedom,” the former "Sexiest Man Alive" told Vanity Fair in 2009.
Read all about it below.
Sanctuary
Located in the Exumas archipelago about 60 miles from the nation’s capital of Nassau, Depp’s private Bahamian island sits right next to a wildlife sanctuary. Its surroundings are part of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park protected area and are home to a variety of species.
While Depp jokingly told Variety he wanted to become “Ruler of the Exumas” and get Guinness on tap on the island, Little Hall’s Pond Cay is a sanctuary of sorts to himself as well — and the Hollywood’s star "great escape."
“Escapism is survival to me,” he told the publication.
Beaches Named After His Kids
The 45-acre island boasts six white sandy beaches, each named by Depp for something near and dear to his heart. Two of them are named after his children, Lily-Rose, 22, and Jack, 19, whom the star shares with ex-girlfriend Vanessa Paradis, 48.
Another beach is named after Vanessa, of whom Lily-Rose is the spitting image.
The actor and musician has dubbed one of the beaches Gonzo in honor of the late author Hunter S. Thompson, with whom he was close friends. Gonzo beach features glass tables with Thompson’s face etched into them, Page Six is reporting.
One beach bears the last name of Depp’s friend and mentor Marlon Brando, whose opinion reportedly weighed into Depp’s decision to buy the island.
Bought In 2004
Depp purchased Little Hall’s Pond Cay in 2004, after first coming across it the previous year while filming Pirates of the Caribbean. According to Forbes, the movie star paid $ 3.6 million for the island, which originally had no infrastructure.
Within the first five years, Depp built a “ranch-style house with a stunning 360-degree view,” shelling out an additional $ 8 million on a yacht to ferry him to and from the island.
It’s also been reported that the actor went eco-friendly with the build, making the ranch solar-powered.
The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory star primarily visits the island to decompress but he’s certainly not isolated there. Other celebrities also own islands off the coast of Nassau, including Eddie Murphy and David Copperfield.
Domestic Incidents
While it’s been 17 years since Depp acquired the island, Little Hall’s Pond Cay was recently in the media amid the actor’s ongoing drama with ex-wife Amber Heard, 35, and his libel trial against The Sun.
Back in July 2020, the island’s estate manager, Tara Roberts, claimed at the trial that the island had been the scene of a domestic incident between Depp and Heard in 2015, during which Heard allegedly assaulted and “repeatedly berated” Depp.
The Aquaman actress gave her own testimony of another incident that allegedly occurred there in August 2014, claiming that Depp slapped and kicked her while he was detoxing from drugs.
The former spouses hosted their 2015 wedding on one of the island’s beaches, per Page Six.
]]>The Inquisitr
