Johnny Depp’s grown-up children, Lily-Rose and Jack, were raised in France, with their mother, Vanessa Paradis, insisting on the family being able to escape the spotlight.
But there was another byproduct of their home life that will arguably prove invaluable in adulthood — learning French.
With Johnny filming box office hits such as Pirates of the Caribbean and performing with the band Hollywood Vampires, and Vanessa splitting her time between modelling, acting and singing, many could be mistaken for assuming they would be based in Hollywood.
However, the Heartbreaker actress told Belgium’s Weekend Knack magazine in 2007: “For my children, I secretly choose France. Even though Los Angeles is great too. We raise them bilingually anyway, so for them it doesn’t really matter. Only, in the south of France you can live much more anonymously. And that’s bliss, especially when the children are still young.”
Vanessa and Johnny’s decision to raise their kids bilingual has given Lily-Rose and Jack important life lessons that can contribute to their success, according to language experts.
Bilingual benefits
Dr. Cindy Blanco, learning scientist at Duolingo, revealed that getting kids to learn multiple languages at a young age is hugely beneficial as “their brains [are] more flexible” and “they are fearless learners.”
© GettyDoctor Kirsty, who grew up trilingual thanks to her British parents who lived in Italy and France, further explained the benefits of languages to HELLO!.
One is the ability to express yourself, noting that French is a great language for “moaning in.”
Lily-Rose backed this up, telling Interview magazine that she would often have private conversations with her brother in French while they were in school in the United States.
© Instagram“When my brother and I were at the same school, whenever we wanted to say something that was going to stay just between us, we could say it in French and nobody would understand,” Lily-Rose said.
Kirsty added that the benefits apply later in life, too. “In a lot of jobs, having multiple languages can be really attractive in helping you network.
“It gives people a heightened idea of your intelligence, even if you probably didn’t work hard at learning it because you did it effortlessly as a child. It seems to be something that’s highly regarded and sought after later in life professionally,” she said.
Lily-Rose has pursued a career in modelling, doing work for Chanel, and acting, starring in The Dancer and The King, while Jack does ad-hoc bartending alongside his music career as a guitarist. Both would require the pair to make contacts in their chosen industry, and it certainly couldn’t hurt to have a second language under their belts!
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