Johansson was born in New York City. Her father, Karsten Johansson, was born in Denmark and her paternal grandfather, Ejner Johansson, was a screenwriter and director. Her mother, Melanie Sloan, comes from a Bronx-bred Jewish American family,[1] and met Karsten Johansson while living in Denmark with Scarlett Johansson's maternal grandmother, Dorothy, a former bookkeeper and schoolteacher.[2] Johansson has an older sister, Vanessa, who is also an actress, an older brother, Adrian, a twin brother Hunter, also an actor, and a half-brother, Christian.

Johansson began her theater training by attending and graduating from Professional Children's School in Manhattan in 2002, a school renowned for its theater and acting training to young, hopeful actors and actresses.

Johansson's acting career debuted in Hollywood and garnered praise and widespread attention with her role in The Horse Whisperer. Following the critical success of the 1998 picture, she followed with major roles as Rebecca in Ghost World, Charlotte in Lost in Translation, Griet in Girl with a Pearl Earring, Francesca in The Perfect Score and Nola in Match Point. Most of her performances received positive critical notice.

In 2003, she was nominated for two best actress awards at the Golden Globes, one for drama (Girl with a Pearl Earring) and one for comedy (Lost in Translation). She was also nominated for best actress for both films at the BAFTAs, and won best actress for Lost in Translation.

Scarlett was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2004.In the same year, she starred in A Love Song for Bobby Long, a film that, despite being widely ignored by the movie-going public (grossing only $964,308 worldwide), earned Scarlett a third Golden Globe Award nomination.

Johansson was involved for a short time in the film Mission: Impossible III but did not officially join the cast because of scheduling conflicts, although a falling out with Tom Cruise had been both widely reported [3] but quickly denied. She was replaced by Keri Russell.

In July 2005, Johansson starred with Ewan McGregor in the Michael Bay-directed The Island, making her debut as a female lead in a mainstream action film. She drew attention to both the film and herself when she proposed that she'd wanted to film the sex scene in the film topless, but director Michael Bay disapproved, wanting to keep the film at a PG-13 rating. Though produced with high expectations, when the movie opened to weak reviews and an even weaker box office, the producers of the film accused Johansson of failing to connect with and attract a mainstream audience.

Her film Match Point, directed by Woody Allen, opened in December of 2005. Johansson received her fourth Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress, however, the award went to Rachel Weisz, for her role in The Constant Gardener.

Johansson endorsed the Calvin Klein perfume "Moment" and was featured in several commercials and printed advertisements for the product. Further establishing her position in Hollywood, she became the face and spokesperson for the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton in early 2005 and in January 2006 was named the spokesperson of L'Oreal. [4]

In early 2006, Johansson appeared on the controversial cover of the February 2006 issue of Vanity Fair in the nude with other Hollywood it-girl Keira Knightley and world-renowned fashion designer Tom Ford.

In March of 2006, she topped the U.S. edition of FHM's poll of the sexiest women alive (in the UK edition, Keira Knightley was first with Johansson in third). In May of 2006, Maxim named Johansson #6 in their Hot 100 issue.[5]

She is a Democrat and campaigned for John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election. [6]

Johansson took part in an anti-poverty campaign which was organized by U2 lead singer, Bono.

She is dating actor Josh Hartnett.

Johansson dislikes it when journalists ask about her religion; hence, it is not clear what her affiliation is, if any. In Marie Claire (UK) - September 2005 she was asked "Are you religious?" Scarlett answered "That's a very personal question. I would rather not answer". However, she has been quoted as saying that she dislikes it when celebrities thank God or Jesus in their award acceptance speeches[7] and is quoted as saying that her parents are atheists (although her father's family was originally Christian and her mother's originally Jewish).