Scarlett Johansson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Scarlett Johansson
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Johansson in 2019
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Scarlett Ingrid Johansson
November 22, 1984 New York City, U.S.
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| Years active | 1994–present |
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| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Ejner Johansson (grandfather) |
| Awards | Full list |
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Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. She was the world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. Her films have earned over $15.4 billion worldwide. This makes her the highest-grossing female movie star of all time. She has won many awards, including a British Academy Film Award and a Tony Award. She has also been nominated for two Academy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.
Johansson started acting on stage as a child. Her first movie was North (1994). She became well-known for her roles in Manny & Lo (1996) and The Horse Whisperer (1998). She also starred in Ghost World (2001). In 2003, she began playing adult roles. Her role in Lost in Translation earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She worked with director Woody Allen in films like Scoop (2006) and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). She also released two music albums, Anywhere I Lay My Head (2008) and Break Up (2009).
In 2010, Johansson made her Broadway debut in A View from the Bridge. She won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for this role. That same year, she started playing Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Iron Man 2. She played Black Widow in eight more films, including her solo movie Black Widow (2021). This role made her a global star. She also starred in science fiction films like Her (2013) and Lucy (2014). In 2019, she received two Academy Award nominations at the same time. She was nominated for Best Actress for Marriage Story and Best Supporting Actress for Jojo Rabbit. This made her one of the few actors to achieve this.
Johansson supports many charities. She has been married three times. She was married to actor Ryan Reynolds and businessman Romain Dauriac. Since 2020, she has been married to comedian Colin Jost. She has two children, one with Dauriac and one with Jost.
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Early Life and Childhood
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson was born on November 22, 1984, in Manhattan, New York City. Her father, Karsten Olaf Johansson, is an architect from Denmark. Her mother, Melanie Sloan, is a producer from New York. Scarlett identifies as Jewish. Her family came from Poland and Russia.
She has an older sister, Vanessa, who is also an actress. She has an older brother, Adrian, and a twin brother, Hunter. She also has an older half-brother, Christian. Scarlett has dual American and Danish citizenship. In 2017, she learned that her great-grandfather's family died in the the Holocaust in the Warsaw Ghetto.
Johansson went to elementary school in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. Her parents divorced when she was thirteen. She was very close to her grandmother, Dorothy Sloan. Scarlett considered Dorothy her best friend. From a young age, Scarlett wanted to be in the spotlight. She often performed song-and-dance routines for her family. She loved musical theater and jazz hands. She took tap dance lessons. Her parents supported her dream to act. She has said her childhood was very normal.
As a child, Scarlett practiced acting by making herself cry in the mirror. She wanted to be like Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis. When she was seven, a talent agent signed her brother instead of her. But she decided to become an actress anyway. She enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. She also auditioned for commercials but soon lost interest. She said, "I didn't want to promote Wonder Bread." She then focused on film and theater. Her first stage role was in the off-Broadway play Sophistry. She studied at the Professional Children's School in Manhattan. This school is for young actors.
Acting Career Highlights
Early Roles and First Success
At age nine, Johansson made her film debut in North (1994). She played John Ritter's daughter. She felt she knew what to do on set. She had small roles in Just Cause (1995) and If Lucy Fell (1996). Her first main role was Amanda in Manny & Lo (1996). She played the younger sister of a pregnant teenager. Critics praised her performance. One critic called her "charming" and noted her "peaceful aura." She was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female.
After some minor roles, Johansson gained more attention in The Horse Whisperer (1998). She starred with director Robert Redford. She played an injured teenager whose horse trainer helps her heal. Redford said she was "13 going on 30." Critics noted her ability to show the pain of her character. She was nominated for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress. She felt this film changed her life. She realized acting meant controlling emotions. She found it hard to find good teenage roles. She said adults wrote scripts that showed kids as "mall rats" without "real depth."
Johansson also appeared in My Brother the Pig (1999) and The Man Who Wasn't There (2001). Her big breakthrough came in Ghost World (2001). She played a cynical outcast in this black comedy. The film became a cult classic. Critics praised her "sensitivity and talent." She won a Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2002, she was in the horror comedy Eight Legged Freaks. After graduating from Professional Children's School, she applied to New York University. She was not accepted, so she decided to focus on her film career.
Moving to Adult Roles
In 2003, Johansson took on adult roles in two films. These were Lost in Translation and Girl with a Pearl Earring. In Lost in Translation, she played a lonely young wife opposite Bill Murray. Director Sofia Coppola compared her to a young Lauren Bacall. The film was a big success. Critics praised Johansson's "embracing, restful serenity."
In Girl with a Pearl Earring, she played Griet, a servant in the 17th century. She worked for the painter Johannes Vermeer. The film received good reviews. She was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Golden Globe Awards for both films. She won the BAFTA for Lost in Translation.
In 2004, Johansson had five films released. Some were not successful. She voiced Princess Mindy in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. She loved cartoons, so she agreed to the role. This was her most successful film that year. She also starred in In Good Company. She played a young woman dating her father's boss. Critics liked her performance.
Working with Woody Allen and Big Films
In 2005, Johansson starred in Woody Allen's drama Match Point. She played an aspiring actress. She was nervous but admired Allen's films. Critics praised her powerful performance. The film was a box office success. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture. That year, she also starred in the science fiction film The Island.
In 2006, Johansson was in two films about magicians. She worked with Hugh Jackman in both. She played a journalism student in Allen's Scoop. She also had a supporting role in Christopher Nolan's The Prestige. Nolan thought she had a "shielded quality." The film was a success.
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In 2008, she starred in The Other Boleyn Girl with Natalie Portman. Critics praised their performances. She also worked with Woody Allen again in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She played one of Javier Bardem's love interests. The film was very popular. Her only role in 2009 was in He's Just Not That into You. This comedy-drama was a box office success.
Becoming a Global Star
Johansson made her Broadway debut in 2010 in A View from the Bridge. She won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play. She then joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Black Widow in Iron Man 2 (2010). She dyed her hair red and did stunt training for the role. She liked that the character had human traits. The film was a huge success.
She learned some Russian for her role as Black Widow in The Avengers (2012). This film broke many box office records. It became one of the highest-grossing films ever. She was nominated for several awards for her performance. Later, she played actress Janet Leigh in Hitchcock.
In 2013, Johansson starred in a Broadway play called Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She also starred in Joseph Gordon-Levitt's film Don Jon. Critics praised her performance in this film. She voiced Samantha, a computer operating system, in Her (2013). This film was highly praised. She won Best Actress at the Rome Film Festival for it. She also starred in the science fiction film Under the Skin. She played an alien disguised as a human. She learned to drive a van and speak with an English accent for the role.
Blockbuster Films and Acclaim
Johansson continued her role as Black Widow in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). She worked with Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie. The film was a big success. She also had a supporting role in Chef (2014).
In Luc Besson's science fiction film Lucy (2014), Johansson played the main character. Lucy gains special abilities. Critics praised her acting. The film earned $458 million, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 2014.
In 2015 and 2016, she played Black Widow again in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. Both films earned over $1.1 billion. She also appeared in the comedy Hail, Caesar! (2016). She voiced Kaa in The Jungle Book and Ash in Sing.
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In 2017, Johansson starred in Ghost in the Shell. She also hosted Saturday Night Live for the fifth time. This made her part of the "Five-Timers Club." Her next film was the comedy Rough Night. In 2018, she voiced Nutmeg in Isle of Dogs. She also played Black Widow in Avengers: Infinity War.
In 2019, Johansson played Black Widow in Avengers: Endgame. This is the highest-grossing film of all time. She then starred in Marriage Story as a woman going through a divorce. Critics praised her "brilliantly textured" performance. She also played a mother sheltering a Jewish girl in Jojo Rabbit. She received her first two Academy Award nominations for these films. She was nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
Recent Work and Future Projects
After a short break, Johansson played Black Widow in her own solo film, Black Widow (2021). She was also an executive producer. The film showed her character's independence. Critics praised her performance. She won The Female Movie Star of 2021 at the 47th People's Choice Awards. She also voiced Ash again in Sing 2.
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In 2023, Johansson returned to the screen in Wes Anderson's comedy Asteroid City. She enjoyed working with Anderson. She also starred in North Star.
Johansson started her own production company called These Pictures. She produced and starred in Fly Me to the Moon (2024). She voiced Elita-1 in Transformers One. She will work with Wes Anderson again in The Phoenician Scheme. She will also make her directing debut with Eleanor the Great. Johansson will join the Jurassic Park series in Jurassic World Rebirth. She will also be an executive producer on Thunderbolts*.
Music Career
In 2006, Johansson sang "Summertime" for a charity album called Unexpected Dreams – Songs from the Stars. In 2007, she performed with the Jesus and Mary Chain at the Coachella festival. In 2008, she was the main actress in Justin Timberlake's music video for "What Goes Around... Comes Around".
In May 2008, Johansson released her first album, Anywhere I Lay My Head. It had one original song and ten cover songs by Tom Waits. David Bowie also appeared on the album. Critics had mixed reviews, but some found it "surprisingly alluring." NME named it one of the best albums of 2008. It reached number 126 on the Billboard 200 chart.
In 2009, Johansson and singer-songwriter Pete Yorn released a joint album, Break Up. It reached number 41 in the US. She also sang on songs for other artists and movie soundtracks. In 2015, she formed a band called the Singles. In 2016, she sang "Trust in Me" for The Jungle Book soundtrack. She also sang for the Sing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. In 2018, she worked with Pete Yorn again on an EP called Apart.
Personal Life
While at the Professional Children's School, Johansson dated classmate Jack Antonoff from 2001 to 2002. She dated actor Josh Hartnett for about two years. They broke up because their busy schedules kept them apart.
In April 2007, Johansson started dating Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds. They got engaged in May 2008 and married in September 2008. They separated in December 2010 and divorced in July 2011. She later said she was 23 when she first married and didn't fully understand marriage.
In November 2012, Johansson began dating Frenchman Romain Dauriac. He owned an advertising agency. They got engaged in September 2013. They lived in New York City and Paris. Their daughter, Rose, was born in 2014. Johansson and Dauriac married in October 2014. They separated in mid-2016. In March 2017, Johansson filed for divorce, which was finalized in September 2017.
Johansson started dating Saturday Night Live writer and host Colin Jost in May 2017. They got engaged in May 2019. They married in October 2020 at their New York home. Their son was born in August 2021. Johansson lives in New York and Los Angeles.
Philanthropy and Activism
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Johansson supports many charities. These include Aid Still Required, Cancer Research UK, and Stand Up To Cancer. She also supports Too Many Women, which fights breast cancer, and USA Harvest, which provides food. In 2005, she became a global ambassador for Oxfam, an aid organization. In 2007, she joined the anti-poverty campaign ONE, started by U2's lead singer Bono. In 2008, a bidder paid £20,000 in an eBay auction to benefit Oxfam. The winner got to go on a 20-minute date with her.
In January 2014, Johansson left her role with Oxfam. This happened after some criticism about her promoting SodaStream. SodaStream had a factory in an Israeli settlement. Oxfam opposes trade with such settlements. Oxfam thanked her for her help in raising money to fight poverty. With her Avengers co-stars, Johansson raised $500,000 for victims of Hurricane Maria.
In 2018, she worked with 300 women in Hollywood to create the Time's Up initiative. This group helps protect women from discrimination. Johansson took part in the 2018 Women's March in Los Angeles. She spoke about power abuse and shared her own experiences.
Johansson supports Operation Warrior Wellness. This group helps veterans learn Transcendental Meditation. Her grand-uncle, Phillip Schlamberg, was the last American pilot killed in WWII. He flew with Jerry Yellin, who later co-founded Operation Warrior Wellness.
Political Views
Johansson has been registered as an independent voter. She campaigned for Democratic candidate John Kerry in the 2004 United States presidential election. She was disappointed when George W. Bush was re-elected.
In 2008, she campaigned for Democratic candidate Barack Obama. She appeared in Iowa to encourage young voters. She also spoke at colleges. Johansson appeared in the music video for will.i.am's song, "Yes We Can" (2008). The song was inspired by Obama's speech. In 2012, she helped host a fashion event to raise money for Obama's re-election. She spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in September 2012. She asked young voters to get more involved.
Johansson supported Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's campaign for New York City Comptroller in 2013. To encourage voting in the 2016 United States presidential election, she appeared in a commercial. She was with her Marvel co-star Robert Downey Jr. and Joss Whedon. She supported Hillary Clinton in that election. During the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Johansson supported Elizabeth Warren. She called Warren "thoughtful and progressive but realistic." In December 2020, three members of an Egyptian civil rights group were released from prison. This happened after Johansson spoke about their situation and demanded their release. Johansson also joined other actors in supporting Kamala Harris for the 2024 United States presidential election.
Images for kids
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Scarlett Johansson's signature
See also
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
- List of actors with two or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories
- List of actors nominated for two Academy Awards in the same year
