Tragic Details About Scarlett Johansson

Since she made her on-screen debut back in '94 on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," Scarlett Johansson has had a stunning transformation from young star to Hollywood icon. Not only has she become an Oscar-nominated actor with dozens upon dozens of credits to her name, but she's also widely considered to be one of the most beautiful women in the industry. Given her long-standing career, it's easy to forget that Johansson got her start as a child actor, having first graced the silver screen at just 8 years old.

"I worked with a lot of adults as a young person," she told InStyle March 2025. "My mom really instilled in me the importance of being respectful on set to the adults I was working with. And being prepared for work every day." It's clear Johansson was destined for success from a young age, which would probably lead many to assume she's had a pretty easy path, filled with privilege and opportunity. However, the truth is that Johansson has been through the wringer a number of times throughout her life, be it professionally, in her love life, or mentally. From her family's devastating history to the difficulty the "Lost in Translation" star experienced in her childhood and all the personal battles she's experienced as an adult, here are the tragic details about Johansson's life.

Long before Scarlett Johansson was even born, her ancestors endured unthinkable hardship. The "Black Widow" star knew that her mother's side of the family had a Jewish background and that her maternal great-grandfather Saul Schlamberg had immigrated to the United States in 1910, poor and alone. However, as Johansson explained to Dr. Henry Louis Gates on the PBS series "Finding Your Roots," she had no idea why. "I can only imagine that he was coming from a place where he could not continue to survive," the actor remarked.

According to archival records, Schlamberg hailed from Grójec, a town in Poland, and when he left in search of a better life, his brother Moishe stayed behind. By February 1942, following Hitler's invasion of the country, all of the town's Jewish residents had been either killed or sent to the Warsaw Ghetto, including Moishe and his family of 10 children. Understandably, Johansson had an emotional response to learning of her family's tragic fate. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry," she said. "But it's hard not to." Learning about her ancestry gave her a sense of perspective, too, as the actor added, "It makes me feel more deeply connected to that side of myself, that side of my family. I didn't expect that."

Although not a lot is known about Scarlett Johansson's parents' relationship, it's clear they did everything they could for her. Karsten and Melanie raised their four children in New York City, which to many would sound like an idyllic childhood. However, Johansson and her five siblings tragically endured "a lot of trauma," according to the star's interview on "Inside the Actors Studio" in June 2017 (via Daily Mail). "We were living on welfare, we were on food stamps," the "Marriage Story" actor revealed. "My parents were raising four kids in a low-income household in Manhattan. So, it was a lot." 

Despite the hardship, Johansson's parents nourished her growing passion for acting and supported her as she began her Hollywood journey. The movie star had already landed a handful of roles by the time her parents divorced when she was 13 and her career was slowly starting to take off — but cracks had already been present in Karsten and Melanie's relationship for some time. "By the time my twin brother and I came around, I think my parents' marriage, it had a lot of strain," Johansson explained. After their split, her mother moved out to California, but the actor decided to stay behind with her father and twin brother in New York.

Scarlett Johansson was only 17 years old when she secured her breakout role in "Lost in Translation." The project established the actor as not only incredibly talented but someone the audience found desirable. "I think because of that trajectory that I had been sort of launched towards, I really got stuck," Johansson told host Bruce Bozzi on the "Table for Two" podcast in December 2024. She revealed that, despite exploring her own sexuality at this time, she hadn't wanted so many of her subsequent roles to be so provocative in nature. "I was kind of being groomed, in a way, to be this what you call a bombshell type of actor," Johansson said, partially blaming her agency for pushing her in this direction. "I was playing the other woman and the object of desire and ... I couldn't get out of it."

Although she found a lot of success portraying these types of characters and enjoyed what became a steady career in front of the camera, this also opened the doors to journalists objectifying the actor. "It sort of felt like, 'Oh, I guess this is my identity now as an actor,'" Johansson told Vanity Fair in May 2025. She felt trapped and dissatisfied in the trajectory of her career, and still, her management was no help. "It was a kind of an exploitation," Johansson remarked.

Scarlett Johansson has been linked to a dozen of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors throughout her time in the spotlight, but before getting together with comedian Colin Jost in 2017, she was tragically unlucky in love. During a conversation with Cosmopolitan in April 2016, the "Don Jon" star revealed that she had previously had a disastrous relationship that left her reeling. "Long, long ago, I had someone in my life who was forever unavailable ... but, like, so attractively unavailable," Johansson said. "You have to get to your breaking point."

It's hard to imagine anyone not giving the glamorous movie star adequate attention. While Johansson didn't reveal who she was referring to, it could've been any number of the men she was romantically involved with over the years, like Jack Antonoff, Jared Leto, Josh Hartnett, or Sean Penn. "Rock bottom is the moment when you're like, 'I've lost myself. Why am I standing outside this bar at 1:30 in the morning texting while my friends are inside? Or taking a taxi to see him at some ungodly hour? This isn't me,'" Johansson continued. "That is the moment you've gotta cut it off."

In 2007, one of the most stunning Hollywood pairings was born: Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds officially started dating after the "Deadpool" star called off his engagement to Alanis Morissette. By the following year, they were married — but it tragically wasn't meant to be. Johansson and Reynolds separated in December 2010, after just two years of marriage, and their divorce was finalized the following summer. While the "Iron Man 2" star told Vogue in April 2012 that the breakup was "comically amicable," it was heartbreaking for her, too. "Of course it's horrible. It was devastating. It really throws you," Johansson said, describing the divorce as "the loneliest thing you'll ever do, in some way." 

Although there's no proof that Reynolds cheated on Johansson with Blake Lively, his current wife, it's been a longstanding rumor. However, odds are that the two stars simply grew apart, as "The Avengers" star still spoke fondly of their time together. "It was a beautiful thing," Johansson said. "The falling in love and getting married and making that commitment ... I think it's nice to know that you're capable of loving somebody in that way." Thankfully, both parties went their separate ways and are now happily married to their respective partners. However, it took some time for Johansson to bounce back, a process that involved a second failed marriage before finding true love in Colin Jost.

In 2011, years before the infamous celebrity nude photo leak of 2014, dubbed "The Fappening," Scarlett Johansson was a victim of the same crime. At the time, the actor had yet to appear naked in a film. So, when her nude photos — which had been intended for her then-husband Ryan Reynolds — were stolen via her hacked phone and spread online, it became headline news. "Just because you're an actor or make films or whatever doesn't mean you're not entitled to your own personal privacy," Johansson explained to CNN in September 2011. "If that is sieged in some way, it feels unjust. It feels wrong."

The FBI got involved, and after her lawyers threatened legal action, many outlets removed the images from their websites. Thankfully, the perpetrator was caught and arrested, but the damage had been done. In speaking with Vogue for her April 2012 interview, Johansson talked about how embarrassing the entire ordeal was. "When all those photos came out, of course I go out to dinner and think, 'God***n it, these people have all seen my ...'" she said, choosing not to finish her sentence. "That's terrible ... You can't not think that. Even if they haven't, you're paranoid."

There are plenty of Scarlett Johansson movies you need to watch, with countless memorable roles. However, some of the parts the actor wanted most were unattainable — in part, due to her disinclined sex icon status. For instance, Johansson tried out for the lead in 2011's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," but was unsuccessful. "Scarlett Johansson was great. It was a great audition, I'm telling you," director David Fincher told Vogue in October 2011 in explaining why she wasn't the right fit to play the lead, Lisbeth Salander. "But the thing with Scarlett is, you can't wait for her to take her clothes off."

Feeling "pigeonholed" in her career and after a series of rejections, Johansson questioned whether acting was even something she wanted to continue doing. "I got turned down for two roles," she said in speaking with Variety in May 2023. "The first was 'Iron Man 2' and then the other one was Alfonso Cuarón's 'Gravity.'" The parts went to Emily Blunt (at first) and Sandra Bullock, respectively, and Johansson was crushed. "It was sort of the straw that broke the camel's back. I felt really frustrated and hopeless," she shared. Soon after that point, the star's luck changed for the better. Once Blunt dropped out of the Marvel film due to a contractual obligation, the role of Natasha Romanoff (aka Black Widow) went to a deserving Johansson and her career subsequently soared.

In 2014, shortly after welcoming their daughter Rose Dorothy, Scarlett Johansson and French journalist Romain Dauriac got married. Unfortunately, the actor's second trip down the aisle wasn't meant to last, as the couple split after just two years of marriage. Johansson requested primary physical custody of Rose Dorothy, and with Dauriac back in France, she was left to raise her daughter as a single mother.

"There's such a loneliness to being a single parent," the Hollywood star told USA Today in December 2019, three years after her second divorce. "Obviously, it's a lot of many different things at once," she added. "But there can be a loneliness and this constant feeling of doubt that you don't know what the hell you're doing, and you don't have anyone else to bounce it off of."

Additionally, Johansson said that the long hours spent with just her daughter, without other adults around, can have an isolating effect. When she began dating Colin Jost, though, everything seemed to change for her. The two have been married since 2020 and had their son, Cosmo, the following year. Some might argue that there are signs Johansson and Jost's marriage won't last. However, we're optimistic that third time's the charm for the "Asteroid City" actor.

Considering her "Sexiest Woman Alive" status, granted twice by Esquire, it's hard to imagine that Scarlett Johansson has ever felt insecure about anything, save for maybe a bad hair day. But, according to a June 2024 interview with Katie Couric Media, she actually used to deal with a totally relatable and eternally irritating skin condition. "I struggled with sensitive skin and acne for years, to the point that I wouldn't leave the house without concealer on," Johansson disclosed.

"The products that were supposed to fix my skin just made it worse, and too many harsh active ingredients were damaging my skin barrier," she continued. It's a scenario countless people have experienced, but with the right products, the "Lucy" star got her sensitivity and acne under control without masking it with makeup. Johansson shared her beauty hack to eliminate acne, stating, "When I simplified my routine and nurtured my skin with moisture every day, my skin transformed."

From the years-long struggle with pimple-prone skin, The Outset was born, her own skincare brand. "For such a long time, the messaging around skincare was cleansing your skin and getting rid of 'dirty skin,'" Johansson said. "When I was struggling with acne, it felt very much like I had dirty skin that I had to clean or fix." Inspired by her own experience, the actor said she wants to help others on their skincare journey with fewer harsh chemicals and a more simplified routine.

If you can believe it, portraying a badass Russian spy-turned-superhero isn't entirely glamorous. For Scarlett Johansson, securing the part of Black Widow was a bit of a mixed bag. While it propelled her career forward and allowed her to work on nine different Marvel movies, Johansson has also had to shut down a number of sexist interview questions based on her character's sex appeal. To top it off, the "Captain America: Civil War" star had to train relentlessly to pull off all the stunt work required, resulting in a number of injuries.

"I am forever wounded from these movies," Johansson admitted to SBS News in March 2014. "I have old injuries from 'Iron Man 2' and I keep re-injuring them," she added, perhaps referring to the neck strain she sustained while shooting the film. "That's part of the joy and part of the process, I guess." Still, Johansson said that she still preferred to perform many of her own stunts, adding, "As you sustain more injuries over time, it hurts for longer and things like that, but I guess I like to do as much of the stunt work as possible and you take a little bit of a risk with that."

Out of everyone on the internet, Scarlett Johansson would probably have a great deal to post online — from her red carpet moments to movie promotions and sweet snaps of her family. However, the "Fly Me to the Moon" star is barely on social media at all — and for good reason. During her April 2023 appearance on "The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast," Johansson divulged, "I honestly am too fragile of a person to have social media. My ego is too fragile." She isn't the first celebrity to go against the grain by not having social media accounts, as even her Marvel co-star Elizabeth Olsen has gone off the grid.

When host Lauryn Evarts told Johansson that she'd likely find a lot of support and encouragement online, she responded, "My brain is too fragile, I'm like a delicate flower ... I have enough anxiety." She revealed that she had previously downloaded Instagram but found it to be a waste of time and had deleted the app. Since then, it seems like Johansson has returned to the platform, but only to infrequently post fun photos — none of which she appears in.

Back in 2013, Scarlett Johansson provided her voice for the role of Samantha, a Siri-like operating system in "Her." The star's soothing vocals were a perfect match for the project, and it seems someone else had the exact same thought a decade later. Johansson had been approached by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who had wanted to use her voice for Sky, the ChatGPT AI personal assistant. The actor declined the offer, but when OpenAI unveiled Sky to the world, comments online were quick to compare the voice to Johansson's.

"I was shocked, angered, and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference," she wrote in a letter addressed to OpenAI in May 2024 (via NPR). Understandably, with the rise of AI, celebrities have had to become much more territorial around their work. "In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our own likeness, our own work, our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity," Johansson added. While the CEO denied any relation between the "Her" star's voice and OpenAI's voice assistant, less than a week after they unveiled Sky to the world, the company discontinued their use of the voice altogether.