Name: Scarlett Ingrid Johansson
Character: Natalie Romanoff/Black Widow
Date of Birth: 22 November 1984
Place of Birth: New York City, New York, USA
Web Presence: IMDB | Wikipedia |
Whedonverse Appearances
THE AVENGERS
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
Bio
Scarlett Johansson was born in New York City a few minutes before her twin brother, Hunter, to Melanie Sloan, a producer with ancestry from Poland and Russua, and Karsten Johansson who was an architect, of Danish descent. Scarlett has three older siblings, Christian, from her father’s previous marriage, and Vanessa and Adrian.
Scarlett livd with her family in Manhatten, where she grew up, attending the PS 41 elementary school in Greenwich Village, and also took lessons in tap dance. As a child she would often perform song-and-dance routines for her family and loved musical theater and jazz-hands.
Scarlett made her acting debut at just eight years old in an off-Broadway production of Sophistry with Ethan Hawke at Playwright’s Horizons. Her film debut came at the age of 9, playing John Ritter’s daughter in North (1994). She enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and also attended the Professional Children’s School.
Scarlett landed her first leading role two years later as Amanda, alongside her twin brother, Hunter, in Manny & Lo (1996) , a story about a pregnant teenager who runs away from her foster home. After this she continued to work regularly in film, with roles in such movies as Home Alone 3 (1997) , The Horse Whisperer (1998) Ghost World (2001), Lost in Translation (2003), Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003), In Good Company (2004), The Black Dahlia (2006), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), and He’s Just Not That Into You (2009), before joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Natalie Romanoff/Black Widow in the Iron Man 2.
Scarlett has gone on to star in 9 MCU movies, including her character’s own movie, Black Widow, which is currently in post-production and set for release later this year.
Scarlett realised her Broadway dreams in 2010 , making her debut in a revival of A View from the Bridge in 2010 and winning the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play. She went on to appear in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 2013.
As well as acting, Scarlett is a singer, contributing a cover of Summertime for the charity album, Unexpected Dreams – Songs From the Stars in 2006 and releasing her own album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, a cover of Tom Waits songs, and one original in 2008. She released a further album in 2009 in collaboration with Pete Yorn, Break up, which was inspired by Serge Gainsbourg’s duets with Brigitte Bardot.
In 2015, she formed a band with Este Haim (HAIM) called Singles, and released a single, Candy, however, they were forced to disband when they receieved a Cease and Desist order from another Los Angeles band with the same name.
Scralett has supported many charities, including, Aid Still required, Cancer Research UK, Stand Up To Cancer, Too Many Women and was an ambassador for Oxfam International from 2005 to 2014. In 2018 she helped set up the Time’s Up initiative, protecting women from harassment and discrimination, taking part in the Women’s March in January of that year.
