Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson, the actress celebrated for standout performances in Lost in Translation and Match Point as well as her portrayal of Black Widow across The Marvel Universe, has simultaneously built a parallel path in music.

She entered the world on November 22, 1984, developed an early passion for the stage by age three, and later trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute for Young People. Her first professional appearance came in the off-Broadway production Sophistry, where she shared the stage with Ethan Hawke, before she moved into film with roles in The Horse Whisperer (1998), Ghost World (2001), and Eight-Legged Freaks (2002). It was her lead parts in Lost in Translation and The Girl with the Pearl Earring, both released in 2003, that brought her broad attention and widespread critical notice.

After being passed over for the central role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production of The Sound of Music around 2005, Johansson began to explore music more seriously. She contributed the George Gershwin classic “Summertime” to the 2006 charity collection Unexpected Dreams: Songs from the Stars. In 2007 she joined the Jesus and Mary Chain onstage for their reunion set at the Coachella Music Festival. Working with producer Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio, she recorded her first solo album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, issued by Rhino in 2008; the record consisted largely of Tom Waits compositions and included two tracks with David Bowie.

She collaborated with Pete Yorn on the 2009 duets project Break Up. The next year she guested on Steel Train’s Terrible Thrills, Vol. 1, followed in 2011 by a contribution to the Wretches & Jabberers soundtrack and another in 2012 for Chasing Ice. In 2015 Johansson joined Este Haim of HAIM along with Julia Haltigan, Holly Miranda, and Kendra Morris to form the pop outfit Singles, which issued the track “Candy” before an unrelated Los Angeles group of the same name delivered cease-and-desist papers. She lent her voice to both the live-action Jungle Book and the animated feature Sing in 2016. Reuniting with Yorn, she released the EP Apart in 2018, highlighted by the single “Bad Dreams.”