From child prodigy to global icon: Scarlett Johansson’s discreet power 

Scarlett Johansson initially worried she would never be an actress despite a hectic schedule of tap dancing, singing and acting classes. Before she was old enough for high school, she convinced her mother to take her to meet an agent. The agent refused to represent her. As the New Yorker, 40, joked years later, perhaps it was her deep and raspy voice. “I sounded like a whiskey-drinking, chain-smoking fool,” she told Interview Magazine in 2013. “I was devastated. I thought it was the end of my career.”

Still, she did not give up. Instead, she got herself another agent, made her film debut at the age of nine and, at just 12, Robert Redford himself praised her maturity in front of the cameras in The Horse Whisperer. Hollywood laid claim on her and would never let go.

Thirty years later, Johansson is perhaps the most popular female star in cinema today, capable of closing the gap between the critics and the public. In the absence of an Oscar, her resume includes films by some of the most prestigious filmmakers of our time — Francis Ford Coppola, the Coen brothers, Wes Anderson — not to mention being the world’s highest-grossing actress thanks, above all, to her role in The Avengers.

Given her role in Jurassic World Rebirth, she is likely to remain so. The new installment of the franchise looks set to be a summer blockbuster. As she told Vanity Fair, her involvement speaks to her obsession with Spielberg’s original film: “I was really crazy about the [original] film, and I slept in a Jurassic Park pup tent in my bedroom I shared with my sister for a year,” Johansson said. “Anytime the trades would report a new ‘Jurassic’ movie, I would forward to my agents like, ‘Hey, I’m available.’”

The face, the career, the glamour, the charisma, the mystery... Johansson is reminiscent of golden age movie stars such as Rita Hayworth. Her fame is due entirely to her work on the big screen. She does not make viral content or capitalize on her relationship status. She is one of the few celebrities who has no official profile on social networks — one that would invariably lead to lucrative collaborations with brands. And she rejects any request for fan photos beyond a professional context.

“The thing about being a public figure is that the idea of being recognizable and celebrated feels fun, but then you can never stuff it back in the bottle. The reality of it is, there’s a massive loss to that, you know?” she told InStyle, adding that she is happy to have kept her children out of the spotlight. The actress has two children: Rose, 10, from her marriage to dancer Romain Dauriac; and Cosmo, three, her son with Colin Jost, host of the famous Saturday Night Live and her partner since 2017.

Today Johansson not only stars in movies, but also produces, writes and directs. This year she made her directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival with Eleanor the Great, a tale about grief and memory, inspired by her own Jewish heritage. Starring 95-year-old veteran June Squibb, the film follows a woman who appropriates a Holocaust survival story that doesn’t belong to her.

Not a fan of grandiloquent declarations, the artist has been an active presence in movements such as Time’s Up and Planned Parenthood and has advocated for equal pay in Hollywood and put her career on the line by confronting the almighty Disney studios. In 2021, she sued Disney for breach of contract after the simultaneous theater and streaming release of her solo film as a Marvel heroine, Black Widow. The case ended up being resolved in her favor with a million-dollar settlement, setting a precedent for the rights of performers in the age of platforms. A year later, she launched her own natural cosmetics brand, The Outset, focused on minimal routines, inclusive products and a sustainable philosophy, far from overpriced luxuries.

Getting the roles she desires and amassing a fortune of more than €160 million ($188.4 million), has not been easy. The success of Lost in Translation — the opening shot of her bottom provoked a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival — Girl with a Pearl Earring and Match Point made her a sex symbol and pigeonholed her in Lolita roles. Her popularity became known in lad culture as “scarlet fever.” Whether it was FHM, Playboy, GQ or Maxim, there was no men’s magazine that did not crown her the sexiest woman on the planet and her career suffered because of it, with directors such as David Fincher denying her roles for being too beautiful.

“When I was younger, a lot of the roles I was offered, or I went for, had their ambitions or character arcs revolving around their own desirability, or the male gaze, or a male-centered story. That is less frequent, though — something has shifted,” she told Business Insider.

From a young age, Scarlett Johansson had a clear idea of what she wanted. In an interview with W magazine, she recalled a plane ride with Laurence Fishburne, her co-star in Just Cause, when she was just nine years old. He asked her if she wanted to be an actress or a star. “Both,” she replied. Fishburne replied, “Well, that’s something you’ll have to decide when you’re older.” It appears, however, that she has managed to span the divide.

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