Amber Heard has broken her silence with a rare social media update from her new life overseas.
The 40-year-old actress, who stepped back from Hollywood following her 2022 defamation trial loss to ex-husband Johnny Depp, 61, completed a half-marathon in San Sebastian, Spain, last week. She marked the milestone on Instagram with a post written partly in Basque, the notoriously difficult regional language.
“Eskerrik asko Donosti!,” Heard wrote on the platform, translating to “thank you very much San Sebastian.” The Texas-born star has made Madrid her home base since selling her California residence months after the trial ended, and she has reportedly adopted the pseudonym Martha Jane Cannary in an effort to distance herself from her public past.
Her Instagram feed, while infrequent, paints a picture of domestic routines far removed from red carpets. Recent posts have shown her cooking at home, practicing yoga, and spending time with her children. In 2025, she announced the arrival of twins — daughter Agnes and son Ocean — joining her older daughter Oonagh Paige in the family.
A source told Us Magazine in June 2023 that Heard “is living her best life” after feeling like “a pariah” in the wake of the court battle. The insider added that she “has been so much happier” since leaving the Hollywood spotlight behind.
Heard’s last on-screen appearance came in “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” the 2023 sequel in which her role as Mera was notably reduced. The six-week Virginia trial concluded with a jury finding that her 2018 the outlet op-ed about domestic violence contained statements that were false, defamatory, and made with actual malice. Depp was awarded over $10 million in damages, though Heard also received $2 million on a counterclaim.
Despite her screen absence, acting remains part of her life. She reportedly took the stage as Genevieve in “Spirit of the People,” a theater production written by playwright Jeremy O. Harris.
Heard’s legal name change and European relocation represent one of the most dramatic post-trial reinventions in recent celebrity history. Where other figures have attempted comebacks, she has largely erased herself from the industry that made her famous, choosing instead to raise her three children in a country where she is not a household name.
The half-marathon post marks her first significant public update in months, suggesting she remains selective about when she surfaces online. Her Basque-language greeting signals a deeper assimilation into Spanish culture than her previous English-only posts.
Financially, the transition appears sustainable. The $2 million she secured from her counterclaim, combined with the proceeds from her California home sale, has allowed her to maintain a comfortable lifestyle without returning to film work.
The defamation trial, which captivated global audiences in 2022, stemmed from Heard’s outlet essay in which she described herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. Depp sued for $50 million, arguing the piece clearly referred to him and destroyed his career. Heard countersued for $100 million over statements by Depp’s former attorney calling her claims a hoax. After weeks of testimony detailing their volatile marriage, the jury largely sided with Depp, though it also found one of his representatives had defamed Heard.
Heard is expected to continue her theater work in Europe.