Scarlett Johansson

Early Years

Scarlett Johansson was born November 22, 1984 in Manhattan, New York, to Karsten and Melanie Johansson. Her father is a Dutch architect, and she has three older siblings -- Vanessa, Adrian and half-brother, Christian. Her twin brother, Hunter, is three minutes younger than Scarlett.

Johansson's interest in acting started at age three and she seemed intent on making it her life’s profession, telling her mother, “I have a fire in my brain to act.” She began auditioning for ads, but was often left feeling frustrated when her brother was chosen instead. Her mother took Scarlett’s interest in acting seriously, enrolling her in the Lee Strasberg Institute from the ages of eight to 11. Her first professional acting job was at the age of eight, starring opposite Ethan Hawke in Sophistry, an off-Broadway production.

She went on to appear in a handful of films, including North (1994), Just Cause (1995), If Lucy Fell (1996), Manny & Lo (1996), Fall (1997) and Home Alone 3 (1997). Her performance in Manny & Lo earned her a Best Actress nomination for an Independent Spirit Award. She was only 12.

Big Break

The actress arriving at the The Prestige premiere in London.

Although Johansson had roles in a number of films in the 1990s, her first big break was in The Horse Whisperer in 1998, opposite Robert Redford and Kristin Scott Thomas. Her role as Grace showed her talent as a dramatic actress, playing a girl who lost her leg and best friend during a horse riding accident. Redford commented, “Scarlett is 13 going on 30.”

Film Roles

Over a short period of time, Scarlett Johansson has appeared in an impressive number of films, including:

• Ghost World (2001)
• An American Rhapsody (2001)
• The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)
• Eight Legged Freaks (2002)
• Lost in Translation (2003)
• Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
• The Perfect Score (2004)
• A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004)
• A Good Woman (2004)
• In Good Company (2004)
• Match Point (2005)
• The Island (2005)
• The Black Dahlia (2006)
• Scoop (2006)
• The Prestige (2006)

Johansson’s upcoming film roles include The Nanny Diaries, with Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti, and The Other Boleyn Girl, opposite Natalie Portman and Eric Bana. Both will be released in 2007. She begins filming Mary, Queen of Scots in summer 2007.

Awards

Scarlett Johansson’s acting talents have not gone unnoticed. Nominations and awards for her stellar performances included:

• Venice Film Festival’s Upstream Prize, Best Actress, Lost in Translation
• Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress, Lost in Translation
• Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress, Girl with a Pearl Earring
• British Academy of Film and Television Arts nomination, Girl with a Pearl Earring
• British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Best Actress award, Lost in Translation
• Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress, A Love Song for Bobby Long
• Golden Globe nomination, Best Supporting Actress, Match Point

Personal Life

Johansson at the premiere of Match Point in 2005.

While Johansson had typically kept her personal life under the radar, tabloids began to report on her relationships with Benicio del Toro, Derek Jeter and Jared Leto. She and actor Josh Hartnett were a celebrity couple for two years before splitting in 2006.

Her most recent brush with tabloid gossip was over her rumored relationship with Justin Timberlake after appearing in his music video, What Goes Around… The speculation came on the heels of Timberlake’s breakup with Cameron Diaz.

Model and Spokeswoman

Scarlett Johansson has lent her famous face to the fashion world, as the face of Calvin Klein’s fragrance “Eternity Moment” and for upscale Louis Vuitton. She signed a $4 million spokesperson deal for L’Oreal in 2006. She unveiled her line of footwear for Reebok in March 2007 called Scarlett Hearts Rbk.

Scarlett Johansson Facts

• Johansson attended high school at Manhattan’s Professional Children’s School, graduating in 2002.
• She planned to attend Purchase University for Film in 2003, but decided against it because of her acting schedule.
• She voiced Mindy in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
• Johansson was originally supposed to appear in Mission: Impossible III, but couldn’t take the role because of scheduling conflicts.
• She posed nude for the February 2006 issue of Vanity Fair with Keira Knightley and fashion designer Tom Ford.
• She ranked as the sexiest woman alive in FHM’s poll.
• She was number six on Maxim’s Hot 100 list.
• Esquire magazine named her the Sexiest Woman Alive in 2006.
• Johansson sang the song Summertime for the album Unexpected Dreams – Songs from the Stars.