Scarlett Johansson in a bikini

Scarlett Johansson (born November 22, 1984 in New York, New York) is an American actress. Johansson's father was born in Denmark, and mother Melanie Sloan comes from a Bronx-bred Jewish family.[1] Johansson's maternal ancestors originally came from Poland. The granddaughter of writer Ejner Johansson, she graduated from The Professional Children's School in Manhattan in 2002.


Applied to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for the fall 2003 semester, but was not accepted. The rejection allowed her to focus on her career, which blossomed soon after.

Johansson has dated actor Benicio Del Toro. She had also dated actor Jared Leto. (8 Days Magazine July 21, 2005)

In July 2005, Scarlett starred with Ewan McGregor in the Michael Bay-directed, The Island. It was her debut as the female lead in a mainstream action film. When the movie opened to weak reviews and an even weaker box office, the producers of the film accused Johansson of failing to connect or attract a mainstream audience.

Is of Polish/Danish descent