Now just barely twenty years old, Scarlett already has more that two dozen films under her belt with many more in the works, including Mission Impossible III, due for release in 2006, where Scarlett will share acting skills with super-hunk Tom Cruise.
Take the above-mentioned films, stir it with treasures like Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) and Lost in Translation (2003), and one can see why Scarlett is indeed making good movies and firmly planting her skills among the stars.
Scarlett Johansson was born on November 22, 1984 in New York, NY to parents Karsten Johansson (building contractor) and Melanie Johansson. She has an older half-brother named Christian, an older brother named Adrian, an older sister named Vanessa, and is the twin to older brother Hunter. Always interested in acting, Scarlett graduated from the Professional Children's School in Manhattan in 2002 and attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute for Young People. At the young age of 8, she made her stage debut in the off-Broadway production, Sophistry, also starring young Ethan Hawke.
Scarlett has been linked to actors Jared Leto and the much older (17 years her senior) Benicio Del Toro.
"Whatever you do, don't go into acting for the fame, 'cause you're gonna end up unhappy. And I don't really think you can become an actress... you are an actress." Scarlett Johansson
Although Scarlett Johansson had several films under her belt, it was Robert Redford's 1998 film The Horse Whisperer that made audiences stand up and take note of the young actor. Playing Grace MacLean, a traumatized young girl, Scarlett showed great acting skill and her career began to climb.
Scarlett's career is starred with good performances in good films. In the year 2000, Johansson starred with Thora Birch (American Beauty, Hocus Pocus) in Terry Zwigoff's comedic drama Ghost World. The year 2003 proved to be Scarlett's most successful year. Starring with Bill Murray in Sofia Coppola's masterpiece, Lost in Translation, Scarlett earned not only the critic's phrase but also a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance.
Girl with a Pearl Earring, also of 2003, gained Scarlett another Golden Globe nomination. This time for Best Performance by an Actress. Johansson starring as Griet, a youngest peasant girl who's beauty becomes an obsession with painter Johannes Vermeer, played by Colin Firth.
Scarlett Johansson's menagerie of films has kept the young star busy. In 2004 alone, four films were released with Scarlett's name among the credits: The Perfect Score (2004), A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004), A Good Woman (2004), and In Good Company (2004). That year Scarlett also lent her voice to the children's animated film, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
In 2005 fans will catch Scarlett in Michael Bay's The Island, Woody Allen's Match Point and Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia.
Due to begin filming in June of 2005, Scarlett will rub elbows with super star Tom Cruise in the much awaited action sequel Mission Impossible III. The movie is due for release sometime in 2006.
"I'm so tired of hearing casting directors ask if I have a sore throat. The people who have told me that my voice is distinctive, it's unusual...those people have always been close to my heart." Scarlett Johansson
Awards:
- BAFTA: Best Actress, Lost in Translation, 2004
- Boston Society of Film Critics: Best Actress, Lost in Translation, 2003
- Hollywood Film Festival: Breakthrough Actress, Lost in Translation, 2003
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award: New Generation Award, 2003
- Venice Film Festival: Upstream Prize: Best Actress, Lost in Translation, 2003
- Young Artist Award: Best Ensemble in a Feature Film, An American Rhapsody, 2002
- Young Artist Award: Best Leading Young Actress, An American Rhapsody, 2002
- Toronto Film Critics Association Award: Best Supporting Performance, Female, Ghost World, 2001
- Hollywood Reporter Young Star Award, The Horse Whisperer, 1998