Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson (born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. She 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 and Girl with a Pearl Earring, the latter two earning her Golden Globe Award nominations in 2003.

Biography

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 a Jewish American family of Polish Jewish descent 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 from her father's re-marriage, Christian.

Johansson grew up in a household with "little money". She began her theater training by attending and graduating from Professional Children's School in Manhattan in 2002.

Johansson began acting during her childhood, making her film debut in 1994's North, after her mother began taking her to auditions. After appearing in several films during the late 1990s, 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 as Charlotte 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 of 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 the Michael Bay-directed 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 Woody Allen, was released on July 28, 2006. The same year, she appeared in director Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia, a film noir shot in Los Angeles and Bulgaria. Johansson has noted that she was a fan of De Palma and had wanted to work with him on the film, despite her belief that she was "physically wrong" for the part. Her reviews were mixed: CNN.com positively noted that Johansson "takes to the pulpy period atmosphere as if it were oxygen", whereas another reviewer referred to Johansson as "miscast".

On January 14, 2006, Johansson made her debut as the host of Saturday Night Live. She made a return appearance on April 21, 2007, during which she demonstrated her singing ability by duetting with Andy Samberg (as Sanjaya Malakar) for a version of "Something to Talk About". 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's most recent role was in the thriller The Prestige, which opened on October 20, 2006. She has also completed filming for The Nanny Diaries, in which she starred alongside Alicia Keys, and opposite Natalie Portman and Eric Bana in The Other Boleyn Girl, playing Mary Boleyn, which is scheduled for a 2007 release. Johansson will also play Mary, Queen of Scots, in a film scheduled to begin production by the end of summer 2007.

Between 2005 and 2006, Johansson sang the track "Summertime" for Unexpected Dreams - Songs from the Stars, a non-profit collection of songs recorded by Hollywood actors, and was in talks to appear in a stage version of The Sound of Music.

In October 2006, Fox News reported that Johansson has signed to record a music album with Rhino Entertainment's Atco Records, with a possible release date of Spring 2007. The album, entitled Scarlett Sings Tom Waits, will consist entirely of Johansson's cover versions of Tom Waits songs. It's reported that the album is being produced by Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio and will feature members from the Yeah Yeah Yeah's .

Johansson is also the leading lady in the Justin Timberlake music video "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around Interlude".

Johansson performed with rock group The Jesus And Mary Chain for a special Coachella Reunion Show in Indio, California in April 2007.