Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson has built a screen career around a useful tension: she can appear entirely self-possessed while suggesting that something more complicated is moving beneath the surface. Born in Manhattan on November 22, 1984, she began working as a child, making her film debut in North before taking her first leading role in Manny & Lo. The Horse Whisperer brought wider attention, while Ghost World gave her an early chance to play the kind of guarded, sharply observed character that would become one of her strengths. Her transition into adult roles came decisively in 2003. As the lonely Charlotte in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, Johansson found emotional weight in pauses, glances and unfinished conversations. Girl with a Pearl Earring relied even more heavily on quiet expression, earning her another Golden Globe nomination; she won the BAFTA for Lost in Translation. Johansson’s career has rarely stayed in one lane. She moved through intimate drama, period pieces, comedy, science fiction and action, working with directors including Christopher Nolan, Spike Jonze, Jonathan Glazer, the Coen brothers, Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach. Her voice performance as an operating system in Her created a complete character without an onscreen appearance, while Under the Skin used her composure to increasingly unsettling effect. Lucy placed her at the center of a large-scale science-fiction action film. For a broad audience, she became closely associated with Natasha Romanoff, or Black Widow, beginning with Iron Man 2. She continued the role across multiple Marvel films before leading and executive-producing Black Widow in 2021. Yet some of her most acclaimed work arrived away from spectacle. In 2019, Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit earned her two Academy Award nominations in the same year, for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively. Her work also extends to the stage, music, voice acting, producing and directing. She won a Tony Award for A View from the Bridge and later made her feature directorial debut with Eleanor the Great. It is a varied career, but the connecting thread is Johansson’s ability to make reserve feel active rather than empty.