ACTOR · BORN 1984
Scarlett Johansson
- Born
- 22 November 1984, New York City, New York, USA
- Known for
- The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
105 archived facts 7 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Sep 2026
33 Facts About Scarlett Johansson's Life and Family
- #003
Johansson's father, Karsten Olaf Johansson, is an architect from Copenhagen, Denmark, and through him she is the granddaughter of art historian, screenwriter and film director Ejner Johansson, whose father was Swedish.
- #005
Johansson's mother, New Yorker Melanie Sloan, has worked as a producer, and her family is Jewish, having fled Poland and Russia under the original surname Schlamberg; Johansson has described herself as Jewish.
- #006
Scarlett Johansson is exactly three minutes older than her twin brother, Hunter Johansson, and she often says those three minutes were the most important of her life. The difference has always been a source of pride in her relationship with her brother. Johansson likes to tell the story humorously and stresses the strong bond between them. The detail shows how much importance she places on her family ties.
- #010
Scarlett Johansson was especially close to her maternal grandmother, Dorothy Sloan, a bookkeeper and schoolteacher, and considered her her best friend.
- #012
Interested in a career in the spotlight from an early age, Scarlett Johansson often performed song-and-dance routines for her family, was fond of musical theater and jazz hands, and took tap dance lessons; she has said her parents supported her career choice and described her childhood as very ordinary.
- #013
On 2 May 2012, Scarlett Johansson received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6931 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Her mother Melanie Sloan, her grandmother, her sister Vanessa Johansson and her The Avengers (2012) co-star Jeremy Renner attended the ceremony. The honour crowned her lasting impact and success in the film world. Johansson described the moment as one of the proudest of her career.
- #015
At age seven, Scarlett Johansson was devastated when a talent agent signed one of her brothers instead of her, but she later decided to become an actress anyway.
- #016
Scarlett Johansson has another sister named Fenan. Fenan was adopted from Ethiopia by Johansson's mother, Melanie Sloan, in May 2010. Johansson loves Fenan dearly and takes a close interest in her. The adoption expanded the family and brought a person from a different culture into it. Johansson often shares her bond with her sister on social media.
- #020
On the programme Finding Your Roots (2012), Scarlett Johansson learned that the brother of her maternal great-great-uncle, Mosze Szlamberg, was killed in the Holocaust in Poland along with at least two of his children, Zlata and Mandlit. The discovery had a deep emotional impact on her regarding her family history. After learning this painful truth, Johansson began giving more support to efforts commemorating Holocaust victims. The experience strengthened her connection to her Jewish identity.
- #021
Scarlett Johansson dated her Professional Children's School classmate Jack Antonoff from 2001 to 2002.
- #024
Scarlett Johansson dislikes the nickname ScarJo, which the media often uses for her. She feels the nickname does not fully reflect her personality and prefers to be called simply Scarlett. Johansson has voiced her discomfort about this in various interviews. The detail shows her stance against images created by the media.
- #025
Her great-uncle, US Army Air Forces First Lieutenant Philip Schlamberg, was a P-51 Mustang pilot with the 15th Fighter Group at Iwo Jima in World War II and died over Japan on 14 August 1945, the day the Japanese surrendered. The loss is a source of deep pain for her family, and Johansson proudly commemorates her great-uncle's sacrifice. This historical connection recalls her family's hardships and heroism during the war.
- #031
Scarlett Johansson gave birth to a son with Colin Jost in August 2021.
- #032
Scarlett Johansson's older sister, Vanessa Johansson, is also an actress. Although Vanessa has appeared in lesser-known projects over her career, the two trained in acting together, have always supported each other and have attended various events together. Scarlett has often said that she admires her sister's talent and has learned a great deal from her.
- #033
Scarlett Johansson lives in New York and Los Angeles.
- #037
Scarlett Johansson has criticized the media for promoting an image that leads to unhealthy diets and eating disorders among women. In an essay for The Huffington Post, she encouraged people to keep a healthy body.
- #038
Scarlett Johansson's mother, Melanie Sloan, is from the Bronx and comes from an Ashkenazi Jewish family (from Poland, Belarus and Russia). Her father, Karsten Johansson, is Danish; his paternal grandfather was Swedish, and the rest of his family is Danish. This multicultural heritage is an important part of her identity; Johansson proudly carries both her Jewish and Scandinavian roots and says this diversity enriches her life.
- #039
Scarlett Johansson had a relationship with Jared Leto between 2004 and 2005. The relationship drew intense media attention, and pictures of the pair together frequently appeared in celebrity magazines. Johansson and Leto remained on friendly terms after they broke up. The experience is one of the periods when her private life was closely followed by the public.
- #042
Scarlett Johansson took part in the anti-poverty campaign ONE in 2007, which was organized by U2's lead singer, Bono.
- #048
In 2018, Scarlett Johansson worked with 300 women in Hollywood to establish the Time's Up initiative, which was created to protect women from harassment and discrimination.
- #053
Scarlett Johansson is a graduate of the Lee Strasberg Institute, whose alumni also include actors such as Frank Miranda, Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson, Dennis Hopper and Julia Roberts. The institute holds an important place in acting training and has contributed to the development of many famous actors. Johansson says the training she received there played a fundamental role in her career and deepened her interest in method acting.
- #054
Phillip Schlamberg, Scarlett Johansson's grand-uncle, flew a bombing mission with Jerry Yellin, who later co-founded Operation Warrior Wellness.
- #055
Scarlett Johansson married her fiancé of four months, Ryan Reynolds, at the Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The ceremony was held away from the press and kept simple.
- #060
Scarlett Johansson's favorite film is the comedy Auntie Mame (1958). She has said she has watched it many times and enjoys it every time.
- #061
On March 7, 2017, Scarlett Johansson filed for divorce from her second husband, Romain Dauriac, from whom she had been separated since the previous summer. The couple married in 2014 and have a daughter together.
- #067
Scarlett Johansson is the granddaughter of the writer Ejner Johansson. She has said she drew inspiration from her grandfather's writing and that his influence is felt in her career.
- #070
After a two-year relationship, Johansson announced her engagement to Colin Jost. Colin Jost is one of Saturday Night Live's head writers. This engagement marked the beginning of a new period in her private life. Johansson and Jost married in 2020 and had a child together. This relationship shows that she maintains a happy marriage.
- #074
She announced her engagement to Ryan Reynolds, whom she had been with since February 2007. This engagement was an important step in the couple's relationship and drew intense media attention. Johansson and Reynolds married in 2008 but divorced in 2011. This relationship marks an important period in her private life.
- #075
She had a romantic relationship with Jack Antonoff of the indie/folk group Steel Train. The songs "Better Love," "2 O'Clock," "I Feel Weird" and "Dig" all contain references to Scarlett. These songs carry traces of her relationship and are listened to with interest by her fans. Johansson regards this period as an important experience in her private life.
- #080
She is the stepdaughter of Christian Johansson, the younger sister of Vanessa Johansson, the twin sister of Hunter Johansson and the adopted stepsister of Fenan Sloan.
- #083
She planned to attend Purchase University to study film.
- #098
As part of the Toy Mountain Campaign, Scarlett Johansson donated numerous items to Rocky Stone to be given to less fortunate children.
- #105
Sir Sean Connery, who played her father in the film Just Cause (1995), starred as the main villain in The Avengers (1998), based on the classic British television series. Scarlett Johansson later played Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in The Avengers (2012), based on the Marvel comic book.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia Scarlett Johansson — Wikipedia
- IMDb IMDb
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