It’s safe to say that Hollywood has Scarlett fever—the good kind. This New York native and Marvel superstar is smart, sexy, and totally at the peak of her career. Even so, she’s had ups, downs, and plenty of career transformations, from indie darling to mainstream starlet and everything in between. Thirsty for more? Read on to find out 42 of these voluptuous facts about Scarlett Johansson.
Scarlett Johansson Facts
1. Roots
Though she was born in Manhattan, New York (so that’s where she gets all her innate cool from) on November 22, 1984, Scarlett Johansson’s father was originally from Copenhagen, Denmark. The Johansson family also has Swedish ancestry, and her mother has Jewish heritage.
2. Doubling Up
Johansson holds both American and Danish citizenship.
3. Late to the Party
Johansson is related to Phil Schlamberg; she’s his great niece. But who the heck is Phil Schlamberg, you say? Schlamberg was the last person to die in combat in World War II.
4. Twinsies
Johansson is a twin, and you can definitely see the resemblance between Scarlett and her brother Hunter. The pair also has two older siblings: Vanessa (who is also an actress) and Adrian.
5. BFFs
Johansson’s parents split when she was 13, and she became very close to her grandmother, whom she has called her best friend.
6. A Class Act
The acting bug hit Johansson early, and she would often perform song and dance routines for her family. She was particularly inspired by Judy Garland’s iconic, multi-talented performance in Meet Me in St. Louis.
7. DIY Acting Lessons
Johansson was extremely serious about acting right from the beginning, and as a kid, she used to make herself cry while she stared into a mirror. That’s some dedication right there.
8. Rejected
Despite her dedication, Johansson also got used to rejection. When she was seven, she was crestfallen to find out that a talent agent had signed her twin brother, but not her, with an agency. Later, in 2003, she also applied to New York University’s renowned Tisch School of the Arts but was also rejected. Both of these times Johansson soldiered on and didn’t let it stop her dream of becoming an actress.
9. Debut
Johansson did a series of commercials and theater acting before she made her film debut with John Ritter in 1994’s North—she played his daughter. Her first leading role came in 1996 as a pregnant teenager in Manny & Lo.
10. What Could Have Been
The Parent Trap catapulted Lindsay Lohan to stardom, but Johansson had her eye on the part as well—she auditioned for the role but lost out to LiLo.
11. Comical Beginnings
Johansson’s true breakthrough role came in the 2001 cult classic Ghost World, where she starred alongside Thora Birch. The film was adapted from Daniel Clowes’ graphic novel—and would turn out to be a sign of the Marvelous things to come for the actress (I’m so, so sorry).
12. Bogie and Bacall
When Sofia Coppola cast Johansson as a lonely foreigner in Japan in Lost in Translation, she felt that Johansson resembled (in looks and spirit) a young Lauren Bacall; the director had actually based Lost in Translation on Bacall and Humphrey Bogart’s relationship in The Big Sleep.
13. Aging Up
Johansson was only 18 when she filmed Lost in Translation, and many critics praised her for her ability to act older, as well as her “embracing, restful serenity.”
14. Triumph
When she won the title role in Girl with a Pearl Earring, she beat out 150 actors for the part.
15. Animal Lover
The startling beauty also has a love of both cats and dogs: She has a cat named Trooper, and she owns a little Chihuahua named Maggie.
16. I’d Dye for You
When she fought for the role of superhero and all-around badass lady Black Widow in Iron Man 2, Johansson showed her trademark determination, going so far as to dye her hair red to convince producers that she was right for the part.
17. Superhero Tryouts
Johansson had some shots at the superhero/action genre a couple of times before the Widow: she tried out for the part of Sue Storm in Fantastic Four that eventually went to Jessica Alba, and was also offered the role in Mission: Impossible III that went to Keri Russell. No shade to Alba, but considering the box office poison that is the Fantastic Four property, I’m betting Johansson feels like she dodged a bullet on that one.
18. True Romance
Johansson has been in a number of high profile relationships over the years. She was in a relationship with teen heartthrob Josh Hartnett from 2005 to 2007, one of her exes is Jared Leto, and she was actually married to Ryan Reynolds in 2008. That marriage didn’t last, and Johansson is currently rumored to be dating Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost.
19. Tag Team
The same year, 2010, that GQ named Johansson their “Babe of the Year,” People magazine also named her then-husband Ryan Reynolds the “Sexiest Man Alive.” What a power couple.
20. Sing It
Johansson is a huge fan of musician Tom Waits and even recorded an entire album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, of only covers of his songs. It makes sense, as both Waits and Johansson are famous for their deep, gravelly voices.
21. To Be Blunt
Although Johansson is now iconic as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, Emily Blunt was initially signed on to play the Russian spy in a catsuit but had to drop out because of scheduling conflicts.
22. Swordplay
Many people would say that Johansson is mystically beautiful. Indeed, artist Francesco Clemente hand-painted a deck of Tarot cards and chose Johansson has the Queen of Swords—that’s the Queen who represents the intellectual and rational aspects of the feminine self.
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23. Co-Workers
Before working with Captain America himself, Chris Evans, in the Avengers films, Johansson previously teamed up with the actor in both The Perfect Score and The Nanny Diaries. The two are very good friends.
24. Faves
Johansson loves a good laugh, and one of her favorite movies is the classic comedy flick Auntie Mame, which came out all the way back in 1958.
25. Making Bank
Johansson is the highest-grossing actress of all time. Let that sink in a bit. She brought in $3.327 billion into the box office, and in the year 2016 alone she brought in $1.2 billion. If she keeps going at this rate, she could be one of the top three grossing actors, period. Who’s the number two actress? None other than Cameron Diaz.
26. HasselHunk
Despite dating some of the hottest men in Hollywood, Johansson claims she still has a bit of schoolgirl crush on, of all people, David Hasselhoff. When she did voice work on The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (which they were both in), she said, “I so fancied him when I was young, that to see my name on the credits next to his makes me go all girly. He was a hunk back in those days.”
27. I Get It From My Father
Johansson is naturally a dirty blonde, but she often dyes it a lighter, more white blonde. She has even admitted to taking a clipping of her father’s very light hair into the salon as a dye color swatch!
28. No to ScarJo
Johansson has publicly stated that she is no fan of her “ScarJo” nickname. She thinks it sounds “violent,” and it reminds her too much of pop star nicknames.
29. Southpaw
Johansson is left-handed.
30. Brontosaurus Boobs
At one point during the beginning of her worldwide fame, Johansson saw a huge billboard of herself and almost got into an accident when she saw her huge cleavage. As she said, “I was driving through Los Angeles and I look up and see the biggest photo of me I have ever seen in my life on a massive ad space. I screamed and slammed on the brakes. I couldn't believe it. It's very strange to see my cleavage the size of a brontosaurus. My breasts were huge. I had long hair and my goodness, I couldn't get past the cleavage.”
31. Shorty
Johnasson’s curvy frame and outsized personality can make you forget it, but she’s actually a very petite 5 feet and 4 inches tall.
32. Too Beautiful
Johansson tried out for the role of Lisbeth Salander in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but missed out on the part because producers felt that she was too beautiful. Is that a compliment or an insult? And how does Rooney Mara, who ended up snagging the part, feel about it?
33. Phobia
She’s afraid of both birds and cockroaches.
34. Monogamy No Go
Johansson has been married and divorced twice: once to Reynolds (they split in 2011), and once to Romain Dauriac (they split early 2017). She has said in the past that she finds monogamy difficult, particularly when she’s working very hard and is away from her partner. In her words, “I think the idea of marriage is very romantic; it’s a beautiful idea, and the practice of it can be a beautiful thing, I don’t think it’s natural to be a monogamous person. I might be skewered for that, but I think it’s work. It’s a lot of work.”
35. A Rose by Any Other Name
Johansson has one child with Dauriac: Rose Dorothy Dauriac, who was born in 2014. She was pregnant on the set of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the production had to come up with ways—through stunt doubles and clever angles—to hide the pregnancy.
36. Child at Heart
Having a daughter is sure to bring out Johansson’s childish side, which is a facet of herself she loves getting in touch with. She even spent her 20th birthday at Disneyland, and has been spotted roaming around the park more recently as well. Little Rose probably loves it.
37. Just Say No
Although she’s had her deep, throaty voice since she was a pre-teen, Johansson also picked up the habit of smoking when she was 15, and has found it difficult to kick the addiction.
38. Old Flame
When they both were still teenagers, Johansson dated musician Jack Antonoff—they went to the same school together. They dated for an entire year, which is pretty much a lifetime in high school relationships. Antonoff recently split up with Girls creator Lena Dunham, and while a reconciliation between the bombshell actress and Antonoff almost certainly isn’t in the works, it would kind of be great for gossip.
39. Mom-ager
Johansson’s mother, Melanie Sloan, was once her manager. While Johansson once defended her choice despite people’s skepticism, in 2009, Johansson fired Sloan. Just a little bit awkward.
40. Double Duty
Johansson identifies as Jewish (on her mother’s side), and celebrates both Christmas and Hannukah during the holidays. Double the fun!
41. Do You Like Gouda?
Although she generally tries to stay super fit (she’s got to do all that running and jumping while in a catsuit as Black Widow), she does have one vice besides smoking: cheese. Johansson says she loves the stuff. And really, who doesn’t?
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42. Adding Up
Johansson’s estimated net worth tops out at a whopping $100 million. You keep doing what you’re doing, ScarJo (sorry, I just couldn’t help myself).