Scarlett Johansson, one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors, is making two appearances on the Cannes red carpet: on Tuesday for her directorial debut with “Eleanor the Great,” and on Sunday for Wes Anderson’s film “The Phoenician Scheme.”
Five facts about the former teen star who is now an A-Lister in Hollywood are as follows:
Scarlett, Starlet
Early indications pointed to stardom when baby Johansson was born in 1984 into a Jewish family in Manhattan.
She was named after Scarlett O’Hara from “Gone With the Wind” by her parents, and she loved theater and tap dancing from an early age.
Robert Redford cast her in “The Horse Whisperer” for her first significant role shortly after she barely made it into her twenties.
She then achieved fame with Sofia Coppola’s art-house masterpiece “Lost in Translation” just before turning 20.
Johansson is able to win over the heart of an eerily sardonic Bill Murray as well as the admiration of viewers and critics everywhere in the film, which takes place in the estranging surroundings of a Tokyo hotel.
Top filmmakers, including Wes Anderson, the Coen brothers, Jonathan Glazer, and Christopher Nolan, have waited in line to cast Johansson after she starred in a number of successful films over the ensuing decades.
As the unstoppable Black Widow, she joined the Marvel universe in 2010 and produced eight films with the franchise, catapulting her into the movie industry’s upper echelons.
She starred in popular movies like “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), which IMDB Pro lists as one of the top 10 highest grossing movies of all time, and she topped Forbes’ list of the highest paid actresses during this collaboration.
However, Johansson, the box office superstar, has also passed up or avoided many significant roles.
A possible “Mission Impossible” film was shelved, formally, because of scheduling conflicts.
She didn’t get Lisbeth Salander in Millennium, or the lead in Les Misérables, which went to Anne Hathaway, who won an Oscar for it.
She was quite busy, though, frequently starring in low-budget movies that impressed both audiences and critics.
Among these was an outstanding performance as an extraterrestrial in Jonathan Glazer’s amazing 2013 film “Under the Skin,” which was filmed in seedy minivans, abandoned homes, and winter backstreets.
Although she hasn’t won an Oscar yet, her performances in the independent hits “Marriage Story” and “Jojo Rabbit” earned her nominations for best actress and supporting actress in 2020.
She also appears in popular animated series, such as “The Jungle Book” and the two “Sing” movies.
Additionally, Johansson released two albums: “Anywhere I Lay My Head” in 2008 and “Break Up” the following year.
Although they didn’t make waves in the music industry, Pitchfork praised Johansson’s voice’s “wide textural range” and described the debut album as a “curio.”
Opposing the grain
Johansson has never held back when voicing her opinions on a range of social and cinematic topics.
She has advocated for gender-equal pay, supported victims of harassment, and brought attention to how streaming affects theatrical releases.
