Biography:

Born in New York City on November 22, 1984, Scarlett Johansson is the youngest of four children, she has an older brother and sister, and a twin brother. She admits to having had an early interest in acting and the stage: Johansson wanted to be an actress since the age of four, and was acting professionally when she was only eight years old. After attending acting classes at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute for Young People, she made her stage introduction in the 1990's off-Broadway production of "Sophistry", next to super star Ethan Hawke.

Her first film role came in 1994's "North", starring Elijah Wood. The following year she played Sean Connery's daughter in the thriller "Just Cause", and then in 1996 was hired and cast in "If Lucy Fell" starring Ben Stiller and Sarah Jessica Parker, and then appeared in "Manny & Lo" as Amanda. For her work, she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress. That same year she worked on "Home Alone 3", the last of the "Home Alone" franchise made famous by young teen heart-throb Macaulay Culkin.

In 1998, her career took off. Hired and cast as Grace MacLean, a young girl who suffers a disastrous horse riding accident in "The Horse Whisperer" opposite leading man Robert Redford. She hailed as the most gifted actor on the project. The thirteen year old actress was awarded a Hollywood Reporter Young Star Award for her efforts. 

Building on the energy of "The Horse Whisperer", Johansson next appeared in "My Brother the Pig" (1999) with Eva Mendes, and then co-starred with Thora Birch in Terry Zwigoff's version of the comic book "Ghost World" with Brad Renfro.

The follwoing year Johansson grabbed more attention in a role in the Coen brothers' "The Man Who Wasn't There" starring Billy Bob Thornton. Also in 2001, she starred in "An American Rhapsody", a Hungarian film about a young girl who escapes from behind the iron curtain in the 1950's. 

The year 2003 would prove to be the year the actress became a Hollywood celebrity. Scarlett starred in Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation", as a young girl living in Japan who becomes friends with a washed up American actor, played by Bill Murray. Johansson followed with Colin Firth starring in "Girl with a Pearl Earring", where she played the lead - a stressed out servant who becomes pulled into the world of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. Both roles brought her Best Actress Golden Globe nominations in 2004, and a Best Actress BAFTA Award for "Lost in Translation".

With the 2004 comedy "The Perfect Score", Scarlett Johansson showed that she can take on comedic roles as well as serious ones. She divides her time living between New York City, where her father lives, and Los Angeles, where her mother runs her business. In 2005, she appeared in two movies,  "Match Point" and "The Island" starring Ewan McGregor. She was also hired as advertising spokesperson for Calvin Klein perfume "Eternity Moment." In 2006 she was named the face of L'Oreal.

Johansson worked on two movies that year including "The Black Dahlia" with Hilary Swank, and "The Prestige" alongside Christian Bale. And to top off a busy year she was the star in Bob Dylan's music video "When the Deal Goes Down." In 2007, she played Annie Braddock in "The Nanny Diaries".

Scarlett Johansson was now a top celebrity and Hollywood wanted more of her.

During 2008, Johansson worked on several projects including "The Other Boleyn Girl" working along side Natalie Portman - a spectacular and sexual story of deception, love, romance and betrayal set in old Europe, where two gorgeous sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, compete for the love and sex of the handsome King Henry VIII. Her next project was "Mary Queen of Scots" (2008) - a story of the life and reign of Mary I of Scotland, with a focus on her bad personal and political relationship with her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Next was the star-packed comedy "He's Just Not That Into You" with Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly and Ben Affleck, the Baltimore-set movie of interconnecting story arcs deals with the challenges of reading or misreading human behavior. She then starred in the dramatic action movie "The Spirit" (2008) with Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Mendes, where rookie cop Denny Colt returns from the beyond as "The Spirit", a hero whose mission is to fight against the bad forces in Central City.

In 2009 another string of hits followed for Scarlett, including “He’s Just Not That Into You” where interconnecting story arcs deals with the challenges of reading or misreading human behavior. Next was the role of the “Black Widow” in the sequel “Iron Man 2” with Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film follows Tony Stark who because of his superhero alter ego must contend with deadly issues involving the government, his own friends, and new enemies.

Also in 2011, Johansson teamed with Matt Damon for the comedy “We Bought a Zoo” – a story set in Southern California where a father moves his young family to the countryside to renovate and re-open a struggling zoo.

In 2012 Scarlet Johansson returned to the world of adventure and science fiction with a starring role in “Under the Skin” about an alien in human form who is on a journey through Scotland. Also in 2012 was the highly anticipated return role as the black widow in “The Avengers” where Nick Fury and the international agency S.H.I.E.L.D. bring together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki & his various membered armies. Most of the original cast returned including Robert Downy Jr.

Scarlett returned to her romantic ways in 2013 starring with Joseph Gordon Levitt in the romantic comedy “Don Jon’s Addicition” about the journey of a modern-day selfish Don Juan-type as he attempts to become less selfish. Also in 2013 was the musical romantic movie “Can a Song Save Your Life?” with Mark Ruffalo and young wild girl Hailee Steinfeld – where a depressed music business executive forms a bond with a young singer-songwriter new to Manhattan.

And of course you knew it had to happen – Johansson is also working on a 2013 sequel to the Iron Man franchise and will once again return as the black widow in “Iron Man 3”.