Penélope Cruz defends Johnny Depp over 'violent' Amber Heard divorce

The media has spared no detail in the ugly split, reporting on accusations of domestic violence, lawyers presenting medical reports in court, audio footage in which Amber appears to admit she hit Depp and others in which she describes how he 'dragged her by the hair', 'spat on her' and 'nearly strangled her', and even high-profile witnesses called in, including James Franco.

Penélope, who is now 46 and first met Depp when she was 19, around the time of his central rôle in Edward Scissorhands, insists he is 'very friendly and kind indeed', with a 'great sense of humour', 'treats his friends really well' and is an 'exceptional person'.

“We love him very much, and I feel grateful to have someone so special in our lives,” Penélope says.

Her 'royal we' refers to herself and 'Bond villain' husband Javier Bardem, who worked with Depp on the fifth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

Penélope herself worked with Depp on the fourth film, and also in Blow, and the recent adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.

Her declarations come at the same time as one of Depp's former girlfriends, Winona Ryder, said she 'did not believe' Amber and that he had 'never been violent' with her when they were together.

“Obviously I wasn't there during his marriage to Amber, but my experience was totally different and I was shocked, angry and confused when I heard the accusations against him,” Ryder said.

“The idea of his being an incredibly violent person is as far from the Johnny I know and love as you can get,” according to the Stranger Things actress, who starred alongside Depp in Edward Scissorhands.

Other high-profile, long-term partners of Depp's include British model Kate Moss, 46, and French pop-rock singer and prolific actress Vanessa Paradis, 49, with whom Depp has a daughter, Lily-Rose, 20.

The above photograph, from Pinterest, is a scene from the 2001 film Blow, starring Depp as a multi-millionaire drug-baron and Penélope as his Colombian wife, in one of her earliest English-language productions.