Scarlett Johansson, (real name: Scarlett I. Johansson; often misspelt as: Scarlett Johanssen, or Scarlet Johanssen) was
born on November 22, 1984. is an actress and singer, of dual American and Danish
citizenship. Johansson rose to fame with her role in 1998's The Horse Whisperer
and subsequently gained critical acclaim for her roles in Ghost World, Lost
in Translation (for which she won a BAFTA), and Girl with a Pearl Earring, the
latter two earning her Golden Globe Award nominations in 2003.
On May 20, 2008, Johansson debuted as a vocalist on her first
album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, with cover versions of Tom Waits songs.
Johansson was born in New York City. Her father, Karsten Johansson,
is a Danish-born architect, and her paternal grandfather, Ejner Johansson, was
a screenwriter and director. Her mother, Melanie Sloan, a producer, comes from
an Ashkenazi Jewish family from the Bronx. Johansson's parents met in Denmark,
where her mother lived with Johansson's maternal grandmother, Dorothy, a former
bookkeeper and schoolteacher. Johansson has an older sister, Vanessa, who is
also an actress; an older brother, Adrian; a twin brother, Hunter, also an actor;
and a half-brother, Christian, from her father's re-marriage.
Johansson grew up in a household with "little money"
with a mother who was a "film buff". Johansson began her theater training
by attending and graduating from Professional Children's School in Manhattan
in 2002. She attended P.S. 41 in Greenwich Village for elementary school.
Johansson began acting during childhood, after her mother
began taking her to auditions. She made her film debut in 1994's North. After
appearing in several films during the late 1990s, including a very brief appearance
in the Mandy Moore video for her single "Candy", Johansson garnered
praise and widespread attention for her performance in 1998's The Horse Whisperer
and 2001's Ghost World.
She won the "Upstream Prize" for Best Actress at
the Venice Film Festival for her performance in 2003's Lost in Translation.
The same year, she was nominated for two Best Actress awards at the Golden Globes,
one for drama (Girl with a Pearl Earring) and one for comedy (Lost in Translation).
She was also nominated for Best Actress for both films at the BAFTAs, and won
Best Actress for Lost in Translation.
Johansson was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences in June 2004. In the same year, she starred in the films The
Perfect Score, In Good Company and A Love Song for Bobby Long, the last of which
earned her a third Golden Globe Award nomination. Johansson was involved for
a short time with the film Mission: Impossible III, but was not officially cast
because of scheduling conflicts, although a falling out with the film's star,
Tom Cruise, had been both widely reported and publicly denied. She was replaced
by Keri Russell.
In July 2005, Johansson starred with Ewan McGregor in Michael
Bay's The Island, making her debut as a female lead in a mainstream action film.
In the same year, she starred in the Woody Allen-directed drama Match Point,
which opened in December. Johansson received her fourth Golden Globe nomination
for Best Supporting Actress for the role, but lost to Rachel Weisz.
Johansson's next film, Scoop, another collaboration with Allen,
was released on July 28, 2006. The same year, she appeared in Brian De Palma's
The Black Dahlia, a film noir shot in Los Angeles and Bulgaria. Johansson has
noted that she was a De Palma fan and had wanted to work with him on the film,
even though she thought that she was "physically wrong" for the part.
Her reviews were mixed: CNN.com noted that Johansson "takes to the pulpy
period atmosphere as if it were oxygen," whereas the Kalamazoo Gazette
referred to Johansson as "miscast."
On January 14, 2006, Johansson hosted Saturday Night Live.
Also in 2006, Johansson starred in a short film directed by Bennett Miller and
set to Bob Dylan's "When the Deal Goes Down...", released to promote
Dylan's album, Modern Times. Johansson also appeared in the Christopher Nolan
thriller The Prestige, which opened on October 20, 2006. She made a return appearance
on Saturday Night Live on April 21, 2007, during which she dueted with Andy
Samberg for a version of Bonnie Raitt's "Something to Talk About."
Johansson next appeared in 2007's The Nanny Diaries, starring
alongside Laura Linney, and 2008's The Other Boleyn Girl, opposite Natalie Portman
and Eric Bana. She has filmed her third Woody Allen film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona,
in Spain.
Johansson has signed on for three new projects. She was cast
as the femme fatale Silken Floss in Frank Miller's noir comedy adaptation of
Will Eisner's comic The Spirit. The film has completed production and will be
released in US theaters on December 25th, 2008. She will also portray Mary,
Queen of Scots in a film scheduled to begin production in March 2008, and appear
as a pilates instructor in He's Just Not That Into You, with Drew Barrymore,
Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Justin
Long. The film is directed by Ken Kwapis and produced by Barrymore.
In 2005, Johansson was considered for the role of Maria in
Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End revival of The Sound of Music, though the role
ultimately went to newcomer Connie Fisher after she won BBC's talent show How
Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? Released May 8, 2006, Johansson sang the
track "Summertime" for Unexpected Dreams – Songs from the Stars,
a non-profit collection of songs recorded by Hollywood actors. She also performed
with The Jesus And Mary Chain for a special Coachella Reunion Show in Indio,
California in April 2007.
In the summer of 2007, Johansson spent about a month in Maurice,
Louisiana recording an album at Dockside Studio, a rural 12 acre complex. The
album consists of one original song and ten cover versions of Tom Waits songs.
It was produced by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio and features David Bowie, members
from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Celebration. The record, entitled Anywhere I Lay
My Head was released on May 20, 2008, through Atco/Rhino Records, amid a negative
"critical consensus, stretching from comments on Gawker.com to the pages
of The New York Times." Reviews of the album were mainly negative, mostly
concentrating on her supposedly sub-par vocal abilities and the perceived failure
to add a new dimension to the well-established classics she chose to cover,
but some critics found it to be surprisingly alluring, brave in its eccentric
selection, and even brilliant.
In 2007, she appeared as the leading lady in Justin Timberlake's
music video for "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around," nominated in
August 2007 for video of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Johansson does not discuss her personal life with the press,
saying "it's nice to have everybody not know your business." This
has not stopped Johansson from sharing "select" opinions and personal
details. Johansson's ex-boyfriend (and member of the band Steel Train), Jack
Antonoff, wrote lyrics that refer to Johansson in the song "Better Love."
Antonoff alludes to Johansson in the song "2 O'clock." She has been
linked to many famous men, including Derek Jeter, Benicio del Toro, Jared Leto,
Justin Timberlake and her Black Dahlia co-star Josh Hartnett. They dated for
about two years until the end of 2006, with Hartnett citing their busy lives
as the reason for the split. She dated Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, and on
May 5, 2008, it was reported that the two were engaged. On September 27, 2008,
Johansson and Reynolds were married at a quiet ceremony outside Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada. Johansson says she does not believe in monogamy, and has said
that it is not human nature to be with just one person. She also said "contrary
to popular belief... [I am] not promiscuous" and that she works "really
hard" when she's in a relationship "to make it work in a monogamous
way." She gets tested for HIV twice a year, and has said "it's part
of being a decent human" and it is "disgusting" and "irresponsible"
when people do not do so.
Johansson is close to her twin brother Hunter, and often gives
him advice on women and dating.
Johansson is a cheese fanatic, saying: "My greatest vice
is cheese. Nothing else reigns over my life." She has criticized the media
and Hollywood for promoting an image that causes unhealthy diets and eating
disorders among women, saying "that being ultra-thin is not sexy at all.
Women shouldn't be forced to conform to unrealistic and unhealthy body images
that the media promote."
Johansson appeared on the cover of the March 2006 issue of
Vanity Fair in the nude alongside actress Keira Knightley and world-renowned
fashion designer Tom Ford. In March 2006, she topped the U.S. edition of FHM's
poll of the sexiest women alive (in the UK edition Johansson was third). In
2007, Maxim named Johansson #3 in their Hot 100 issue. In November 2006, Johansson
was named "Sexiest Woman Alive" by Esquire. In February 2007, she
was named the "Sexiest Celebrity" of the year by Playboy.
About her religious affiliation, Johansson says: "That's
a very personal question. I would rather not answer." She celebrates a
"little of both" referring to Christmas and Hanukkah. She dislikes
when celebrities thank God or Jesus in their award acceptance speeches. She
described herself as Jewish when she was talking about Woody Allen. "I
just adore Woody," she says. "We have a lot in common. We're New Yorkers,
Jewish. We have a very easygoing relationship."
Johansson is a Global Ambassador for the aid and development
agency, Oxfam. On March 14, 2008, a UK-based bidder by the name of Bossnour
paid £20,000 for a 20 minute date with Johansson on an online auction
for Oxfam on eBay. The bidder paid for a hair and make up treatment and the
chance to accompany Johansson on her July premiere of He's Just Not That Into
You.
She is a fan of the children's television show SpongeBob Squarepants.
She supplied the voice of Mindy the Mermaid in The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie.
Johansson is a Democrat. In 2004, she campaigned for John
Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. She was quoted as saying of George
W. Bush's re-election, "[I am] disappointed. I think it was a disappointment
for a large percentage of the population." Johansson campaigned for Barack
Obama in Iowa on January 2, 2008; her efforts were targeted at small groups
of younger voters, including Cornell College students and students at St. Paul
Central in Minnesota on Super Tuesday. She has also taken part in the anti-poverty
campaign ONE which was organized by U2 lead singer Bono. According to the FEC's
website, she donated the maximum allowed amount of $2300 to the Obama campaign
on May 8, 2008.
Johansson appeared in the 2008 music video for Black Eyed Peas
front man Will.i.am's song, "Yes We Can", directed by Jesse Dylan.
The song was inspired by Obama's speech following the 2008 New Hampshire primary.
Discography: (Studio album) -- Anywhere
I Lay My Head (2008)
(SWI 15, FR #20, SW #27, GER #30, UK #64, SP #77, US #126)