Scarlett Johansson (born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. Johansson was born in New York City on November 22, 1984. Her father, Karsten Johansson, is a Danish-born architect, and her paternal grandfather, Ejner Johansson, was a screenwriter and director. Her mother, Melanie Sloan, a producer, comes from an Ashkenazi Jewish family from the Bronx. Johansson has an older sister, Vanessa, who is an actress; an older brother, Adrian; a twin brother, Hunter (who appeared in the film Manny & Lo with Scarlett); and an older half-brother, Christian, from her father's first marriage. Johansson grew up in a household with "little money," and with a mother who was a "film buff." She and her brother, Hunter, attended P.S. 41 in Greenwich Village in elementary school. Johansson began her theatrical training by attending and graduating from Professional Children's School in Manhattan in 2002. Johansson made her first stage appearance in the Off Broadway play Sophistry. In 2009, Johansson made her debut on Broadway, as Catherine Carbone in the drama A View from the Bridge, written by Arthur Miller and directed by Gregory Mosher. Liev Schreiber played opposite her. Johansson was nominated for and won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her role in the play. Johansson made her film debut in the 1994 film North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in 1996's Manny & Lo. Johansson rose to fame with her roles in 1998's The Horse Whisperer and 2001's Ghost World. She transitioned to adult roles with her performances in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, for which she won a BAFTA Award, and Girl with a Pearl Earring, both of which earned her Golden Globe Award nominations in 2003. A role in A Love Song for Bobby Long earned her a third Golden Globe for Best Actress nomination. Following an appearance in The Island, Johansson garnered a fourth Golden Globe nomination, for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in Woody Allen's Match Point. She followed that with another Allen film, Scoop, with Hugh Jackman. A role in Brian De Palma's film noir The Black Dahlia was followed by a second role opposite Hugh Jackman in The Prestige, also starring Christian Bale. On May 20, 2008, Johansson debuted as a vocalist on her first album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, which included cover versions of Tom Waits songs. Her second album, Break Up, with Pete Yorn was released in September 2009. Johansson has appeared in advertising campaigns for Calvin Klein, L'Oréal, Louis Vuitton and has been the face of Spanish brand Mango since 2009. After appearing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala with Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, Johansson was announced as the face of the new Dolce & Gabbana make-up collection in early 2009. She made a personal appearance at the London store, Selfridges, on July 31, 2009, to help launch and promote the line. Johansson is considered a "peerless sex symbol" by Channel 4, and she regularly appears at the top of lists of the sexiest women in the world. Johansson appeared on the cover of the March 2006 issue of Vanity Fair in the nude alongside actress Keira Knightley and fashion designer Tom Ford. Maxim named Johansson #6 in their Hot 100 Issue in 2006; #3 in 2007[134] and #2 in 2008. In November 2006, Johansson was named "Sexiest Woman Alive" by Esquire. In February 2007, she was named the "Sexiest Celebrity" of the year by Playboy. During the filming of Match Point, director Woody Allen described Johansson as "sexually overwhelming", saying that he found it "very hard to be extra witty around a sexually overwhelming, beautiful young woman who is wittier than you are." In 2010, GQ Magazine named Johansson its Babe of The Year.
