Scarlett Johansson
☼ Born on 22 December 1984, in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Biography
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson was born on November 22, 1984 in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Her mother, Melanie Sloan is from a Jewish family from the Bronx and her father, Karsten Johansson is a Danish-born architect from Copenhagen. She has a sister, Vanessa Johansson, who is also an actress, a brother, Adrian, a twin brother, Hunter Johansson, born three minutes after her, and a paternal half-brother, Christian. Her grandfather was writer Ejner Johansson.
Johansson began acting during childhood, after her mother started taking her to auditions. She made her professional acting debut at the age of eight in the off-Broadway production of "Sophistry" with Ethan Hawke, at New York's Playwrights Horizons. She would audition for commercials but took rejection so hard her mother began limiting her to film tryouts. She made her film debut at the age of nine, as John Ritter's character's daughter in the fantasy comedy North (1994). Following minor roles in Just Cause (1995), as the daughter of Sean Connery and Kate Capshaw's character, and If Lucy Fell (1996), she played the role of Amanda in Manny & Lo (1996). Her performance in Manny & Lo garnered a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female, and positive reviews, one noting, "[the film] grows on you, largely because of the charm of ... Scarlett Johansson", while San Francisco Chronicle critic Mick LaSalle commentated on her "peaceful aura", and wrote, "If she can get through puberty with that aura undisturbe
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d, she could become an important actress."
After appearing in minor roles in Fall (1997) and Home Alone 3 (1997), Johansson garnered widely spread attention for her performance in The Horse Whisperer (1998), directed by Robert Redford, where she played Grace MacLean, a teenager traumatized by a riding accident. She received a nomination for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress for the film. In 1999, she appeared in My Brother the Pig (1999) and in the music video for Mandy Moore's single, "Candy". Although the film was not a box office success, she received praise for her breakout role in Ghost World (2001), credited with "sensitivity and talent [that] belie her age". She was also featured in the Coen Brothers' dark drama The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), opposite Billy Bob Thornton and Frances McDormand. She appeared in the horror comedy Eight Legged Freaks (2002) with David Arquette and Kari Wuhrer.
In 2003, she was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, one for drama (Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)) and one for comedy (Lost in Translation (2003)), her breakout role, starring opposite Bill Murray, and receiving rave reviews and a Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival. Her film roles include the critically acclaimed Weitz brothers' film In Good Company (2004), as well as starring opposite John Travolta in A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004), which garnered her a third Golden Globe Award nomination.
She dropped out of Mission: Impossible III (2006) due to scheduling conflicts. Her next film role was in The Island (2005) alongside Ewan McGregor which earned weak reviews from U.S. critics. After this, she appeared in Woody Allen's Match Point (2005) and was nominated again for a Golden Globe Award. In May 2008, she released her album "Anywhere I Lay My Head", a collection of Tom Waits covers featuring one original song. Also that year, she starred in Frank Miller's The Spirit (2008), the Woody Allen film Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), and played Mary Boleyn opposite Natalie Portman in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).
Since then, she has appeared as part of an ensemble cast in the romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You (2009), the action superhero film Iron Man 2 (2010), the comedy-drama We Bought a Zoo (2011) and starred as the original scream queen, Janet Leigh, in Hitchcock (2012). She then played her character, Black Widow, in the blockbuster action films The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Black Widow (2021), and also headlined the sci-fi action thriller Lucy (2014), a box office success. With more than a decade of work already under her belt, Scarlett has proven to be one of Hollywood's most talented young actresses. Her other starring roles are in the sci-fi action thriller Ghost in the Shell (2017) and the dark comedy Rough Night (2017).
Scarlett and Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds were engaged in May 2008 and married in September of that year. In 2010, the couple announced their separation, and subsequently divorced a year later. In 2013, she became engaged to French journalist Romain Dauriac, the couple married a year later. In January 2017, the couple announced their separation, and subsequently divorced in September of that year. They have a daughter, Rose Dorothy Dauriac (born 2014).
She married Colin Jost in October 2020. They have one child, a son.
In the role of actor
Asteroid City (22/06/2023)
Sean Kelly on Movies Podcast Asteroid City Play Episode Pause Episode Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds 00:00 / 00:05:11 Subscribe Share Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify RSS Feed Share Link Embed Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:05:11 | Recorded on June 22, 2023Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | […]
Sing 2 (22/12/2021)
A reclusive rock star is needed for the opening of a new show in Sing 2. Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) and his musical stage company of Rosita Brown (Reese Witherspoon), Ash Spinosa (Scarlett Johansson), Johnny Serafinowicz (Taron Egerton), Meena Jones (Tori Kelly), and Gunter Schwartz (Nick Kroll) travel to Red Shore City to pitch a […]
Black Widow (16/07/2021)
The former Russian assassin confronts her past in Black Widow. Following the events of Captain America: Civil War, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) is on the run for violating the Sokovia Accords. While in hiding, Natasha suddenly finds herself attacked by the masked assassin Taskmaster, who was after a package sent to her by sister-figure Yelena Belova (Florence […]
Marriage Story (30/11/2019)
The divorce of a young couple becomes increasingly less amicable in Marriage Story. After a decade of marriage, actress Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) and theatre director Charlie (Adam Driver) have decided to split up. Cast in a new TV role, Nicole travels with her son Henry (Azhy Robertson) home to Los Angeles, staying with her mother […]
Avengers: Endgame (27/04/2019)
The Avengers regroup for one final battle against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. After suffering defeat at the hands of Thanos (Josh Brolin), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) are left in a […]
Avengers: Infinity War (28/04/2018)
The heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe face their biggest challenge in Avengers: Infinity War. As The Avengers remain divided, following the events of Captain America: Civil War, the intergalactic tyrant Thanos (Josh Brolin) has embarked on his mission to acquire the six infinity stones, which would give him the power to eradicate half of […]
Transformer (25/04/2018)
A world champion powerlifter’s transition from male to female is documented in Transformer. Matt “Kroc” Kroczaleski was a world record holding bodybuilder and marine veteran, who was outed as transgender by a 2015 YouTube video. The outing effectively ends Kroc’s powerlifting career, though she begins the process to transition into Janae Marie Kroczaleski. However, with Janae sporting […]
Ghost in the Shell (2017) (12/04/2017)
The cult classic manga and anime series is adapted into live action with Ghost in the Shell. Mira Killian (Scarlett Johansson) is a cyborg with a human brain in her cybernetic body, designed by Dr. Ouelet (Juliette Binoche). She is a Major of the anti-terrorist bureau Section 9, where she works alongside operatives Batou (Pilou […]
Captain America: Civil War (08/05/2016)
The Avengers find themselves divided in Captain America: Civil War. With the actions of The Avengers often ending in mass collateral damage, the United Nations decides to introduce an accord to keep these heroes’ actions in check. While Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr) is all in favour of the accord, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) doesn’t […]
Hail, Caesar! (08/02/2016)
The Coen Brothers play homage to classic Hollywood in the kidnapping comedy Hail, Caesar!. Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is the head of production at Capital Pictures, who is supervising the production of multiple motion pictures, the highest profile of which being the biblical epic Hail, Caesar! A Story of The Christ. When the film’s star Baird Whitlock […]
Jurassic World (13/06/2015)
The park is finally open in Jurassic World. Two decades after John Hammond’s original vision, the dinosaur theme park on the Central American island of Isla Nublar is finally open and thriving. However, the pressure in on the park’s operations manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) to create new exciting attractions to keep up the interest of […]
Avengers: Age of Ultron (02/05/2015)
The team of Marvel superheroes reunite to face a new threat in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The Avengers raid a Hydra base in Eastern Europe and recover the scepter previously held by Loki. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) finds that the staff has the capability to create artificial intelligence and he uses it to complete […]
Lucy (26/07/2014)
French auteur Luc Besson (Leon: The Professional) returns with the sci-fi/action film Lucy. Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) is a 25 year old American woman, who finds herself forced to deliver a case of an experimental drug called CPH4 to Taiwanese gangster Mr. Jang (Choi Min-sik). Lucy finds herself captured and forced to smuggle the drug, which […]
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (12/04/2014)
In his second solo film adventure, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), better known as Captain America, is still trying to get used to life in the modern world, after spending 70 years in suspended animation. Rogers has remained a part of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., doing missions with Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), aka The Black Widow, […]
Her (19/12/2013)
Spike Jonze returns as the writer and director of this very unconventional love story. Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) is a socially awkward man, whose job involves writing love letters for other people. Theodore is currently in the middle of a divorce with his wife Catherine (Rooney Mara) and finds himself quite lonely, with his only real […]
Don Jon (12/09/2013)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes his directorial debut with the edgy romantic comedy Don Jon. Jon (Gordon-Levitt) is a suave New Jersey man, who has somewhat unrealistic expectations for relationships, due to his addiction to pornography. Jon’s routine involves frequenting nightclubs with his friends, picking up one night stands, and then confessing his transgressions at Sunday church […]
Under the Skin (11/09/2013)
Scarlett Johansson plays a seductive alien temptress in Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin, which is loosely adapted from Michel Faber’s 2000 novel of the same name. Laura (Johansson) is an emotionless alien, in the form of attractive female, who drives around Scotland in a white van, looking to lure unsuspecting males back to her home […]
The Avengers (06/05/2012)
The Avengers has a lot of set-up. Each of the main members of this superhero team were introduced through their own film over the course of the last 4 years. It’s definitely an ambitious plan to release five independent films to introduce the characters before bringing them together in one epic movie. And the movie is […]
Iron Man 2 (09/05/2010)
There is nothing much that I can say about Iron Man 2 other than that it was an entertaining summer action film. There is always the pressure with film sequels to follow-up the original, however I am not going to nitpick on little details (like a slow middle act) and just say that I was […]
Moon (03/07/2009)
I have to say that Moon is probably one of the best science fiction films I have seen in years. The entire film focuses on Sam Rockwell‘s character Sam Bell (and the on-board computer voiced by Kevin Spacey) and you can really feel the sense of isolation. Things shake up a bit when another individual […]
Transformers (08/07/2007)
So, what did I think about this film that had fans of the show cringing at the differences? I really liked it and I was a fan of the show. That’s all I am going to say.