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Johnny Depp

Posted June 26, 2008 by Tommi Lewis Tilden with additional reporting by Audrey Turcot

Thankfully there seems to always be a yin to Hollywood’s yang.  And never have we been more grateful for this than now that we’re faced with the distasteful trainwrecks that are E! TV’s new reality shows "Denise Richards: It's Complicated" and "Living Lohan."

Here, we give you celebrities who do the right thing and make us smile, not cringe.

Johnny Depp looked smokin’ hot when he picked up two MTV Movie Awards for best comedic performance in Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and best villain, Sweeney Todd.

The understated but perpetually cool screen god sported short, parted-down-the-middle hair, and a big grin while delivering faltering acceptance speeches --(Hey, he lives in France, maybe it's getting harder to switch back to Anglais mode) -- "Two times in one night -- that’s nutty. Wow...I have to thank all of you who voted for me. That's really a great honor, thanks for sticking with me on this very obtuse and strange road... I'm not particularly eloquent at the moment, but thank you so much." OK, so he’s no Hugh Laurie, but just the mere presence of Monsieur Depp had the star-packed crowd, which included Will Smith, Ellen Page, Jack Black (whose wife gave birth to son #2 soon after the award ceremony), and Iron Man Robert Downey, Jr., gawking!

Depp’s popularity goes deeper than mere presence. In honor of the 44-year-old actor’s endless good deeds, his fans started a charity called Johnny’s Angels. It seems that below the media's radar, the father of two constantly performs random acts of kindness, such as dressing up in his pirates garb to film a video for an 8-year-old boy with a brain tumor, or sending an audio to a 17-year-old coma patient to help her recovery. On a recent episode of Showtime’s "This American Life," Depp lent his voice to narrate for a 26-year-old man who can only communicate by computer.

The Johnny’s Angels group intends to use Depp as the model for inspiring others to help children, especially young cancer patients, by performing acts of kindness.

As one of the "Seinfeld" four, Julia Louis Dreyfus has long pervaded America’s consciousness. As a mom who’s hell-bent on effecting a change with the environment, she's hoping that leading by example will pervade her kids’ sensibilities and get them to follow suit.

As "The New Adventures with Old Christine" star recently told Cookie magazine, "There’s something about being a parent that takes you outside yourself. After I had my first son (Henry, 15), I became aware that the beaches and bays in Los Angeles were polluted with sewage. With a child you want to walk around and put your feet in the water, and we couldn’t! Seeing a need in my own backyard was the beginning of activism for me."

More than a decade later, the staunch supporter of (and active participant in) the Los Angeles-based "Heal the Bay" movement says that her eco pursuits carry over to her family life. Whether it’s trying to cut back on water usage or swapping out light bulbs, "we try to make small environmental choices every day. My sons are aware of why we make these choices and I hope these things get under their skin."

We've found just the thing for expectant dads searching for the perfect delivery room tunes.

Norah Jones, Billy Joel, the Dixie Chicks and Wynonna Judd are but some of the artists who participate in a compilation album called "Stork Tunes: Songs for a Happy Birth Day," consisting of calming, relaxing sounds to help women relax during labor.

CD sales proceeds go to March of Dimes and includes Kenny Loggins singing "Rainbow Connection," Celine Dion’s "A Mother’s Prayer" and Raffi’s "May There Always Be Sunshine." No question that music can help ease the pain of labor, and it may be instrumental while bringing up baby, too.