He's dated some of the world's coolest and most beautiful women but with the sad news of Johnny Depp's split from Vanessa Paradis this week, we ask what's next for the reluctant Pirates pin-up?

Ever since he first popped onto our screens in the 1980s (in Fox television series 21 Jump Street for those of you with long memories), Johnny has been hot business in Hollywood - coveted as much for his acting abilities as his enduring good looks.

His ability to send pulses racing is apparently boundless and even Paradis once admitted she understood why female fans "mob him all the time." But despite gracing millions of locker doors over the years, the actor has never courted either fame or his reputation as a sex symbol.

The 49-year-old maintains an intensely private personal life and has carved out a niche for offbeat movie characters; think Edward Scissorhands, the Mad Hatter and Sweeney Todd.

Off-screen, he has cultivated a taste for independent, stylish and beautiful women and has a habit of falling in love quickly. He met 26-year-old actress Paradis in Paris in 1998. "[She] walked towards me, directly at me, and just said 'Hi.' And then I just knew, you know, it's over with," he later told Oprah.

ABOVE: Johnny and Vanessa confirmed their break-up this week after 14 years and two children together

The pair dated for 14 years and had two children together, Lily-Rose, 13, and nine-year-old Jack. They set up homes in Vanessa's native France, Los Angeles, and on a private island in the Caribbean, but agreed not to marry.

"The idea of a soul mate is beautiful and very romantic to talk about in a movie or a song, but in reality, I find it scary," Paradis said earlier this year on the topic of marriage, while promoting her movie Café De Flore.

For a long time they were seen as one of the most stable couples in Hollywood, closely guarding their privacy and rarely pictured together.

However, in recent months they faced increased speculation that they were living separate lives and this week, a publicist confirmed their break-up, saying they had "amicably separated."

ABOVE: Johnny and Kate were seen the golden couple of the early 90s but their relationship was punctuated by notorious highs and lows

Prior to dating Paradis, Depp embarked on a high-profile relationship with Kate Moss. The two met at a Manhattan bistro in 1994 and were the couple of Hollywood for a while - they were young, good-looking and both had a wild, mischievous streak.

The tabloids delighted in reports of their ups and downs. One minute they couldn't keep their hands off each other, the next they were fighting; Depp was arrested on suspicion of trashing his hotel room at New York City's Mark Hotel in September 1994, following a row with Moss. "I was a horrific pain in the butt to live with," he later confided.

ABOVE: Johnny and Winona were engaged five months after they started dating. They co-starred in 1990 movie Edward Scissorhands (right)

Then there was Winona Ryder, whom Depp popped the question to five months after they started dating in 1989.

"There's been nothing in my 27 years that's comparable to the feeling I have with Winona," he said at the time. However, three years later they had broken up, with Depp infamously changing his "Winona Forever" tattoo on his right bicep to read "Wino Forever."

ABOVE: Back in the day, Johnny was briefly engaged to actresses Jennifer Grey and Sherilyn Fenn (left and right). He has only been married once, to makeup artist Lori Allison (centre)

Depp is obviously a man, who - at one point, anyway - was seduced by the idea of marriage. Prior to Ryder, he was briefly engaged to two other actresses: Dirty Dancing's Jennifer Grey and Sherilyn Fenn.

He was only married once, to makeup artist Lori Allison, 25, in 1983. Depp was 20 at the time and it was through his then-wife's friend, Nicolas Cage, that he scored his first film role in A Nightmare on Elm Street.

ABOVE: Johnny at the Cannes film festival in 1998. Once again, he is now single

As Depp hits the single market once again, we can't help but wonder what's next for possibly the most eligible bachelor out there...

Will he fall straight into another relationship? Or is there even a remote chance of a reunion with Paradis? (People reported today that they have been trying to save their relationship for months).

Let us know your Depp-related thoughts on Twitter or in the comments section, below.