Amber Heard may be living away from the limelight, but that's not stopping her from living large, especially on her birthday.
The actress turned 38 earlier this week and celebrated by providing a peek at her private life on Instagram, which she has used sparingly since her highly publicized defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp in 2022.
Since then, the star has quietly retreated to Spain to live her life with her daughter Oonagh Paige, who turned three years old earlier this month, but is making time for celebrations of her own.
Amber took to Instagram with a snap of herself sipping on a glass of champagne, dressed in gold and surrounded by bottles and bottles of wine and bubbly, captioning it: "Champagne kind of birthday."
Last year, Amber finally made her return to the spotlight with her appearance at the Taormina Film Fest to promote the release of her comeback vehicle In The Fire. She was also a part of the sequel to Aquaman, December's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, although several of her scenes were cut in reshoots.
She celebrated Aquaman's release, despite her screen time being significantly reduced, with a series of behind-the-scenes photos, writing: "After all this time, Aquaman 2 made its splash (sorry, it's too easy)! Thank you to all of my fans for the overwhelming support and love in Mera's AQ return. Thank you so much."
© InstagramConor Allyn, who directed Amber in In the Fire, told People that she had "moved on" from the tense legal battle and added: "She's living her best life in Spain with her daughter and just finding happiness in that way."
MORE: Amber Heard looks besotted in adorable photo with rarely-seen daughter Oonagh
He stated that they often kept in touch and while she was doing well: "I think people carry trauma for a long time."
© Getty Images“Having gone through something like that on a global epic scale – you never just put that in a suitcase and stick [it] in the attic and never see it again."
MORE: Johnny Depp shares emotional message after Amber Heard's return to the spotlight
Conor drew parallels between Amber's real life and her on-screen personal, a historical drama in which she plays a psychiatrist who travels to a remote Colombian village to study and care for a local boy who the townspeople deem "possessed," and receives backlash herself.
He stated that her character is "a fearless truth teller who comes to this remote valley and preaches a certain set of beliefs and is not believed. In real life, Amber is a fearless truth teller who sticks to her own convictions no matter what horrible trouble comes of that."
MORE: Johnny Depp donates Amber Heard's $1 million settlement money to five different charities
Conor asserted that she felt such a strong connection to the script because she'd experienced similar levels of backlash in her own life. "She's had that public backlash. I mean, sure it hit a global apex during the televised trial."
© Instagram"But she's been receiving a lot of public backlash since the day she filed for divorce. She's been going through that for years." He also stated that he was looking forward to collaborating on more projects with her.
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