Scarlett Johansson

Johansson in 2005, cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com

Birth Name: Scarlett Ingrid Johansson

Place of Birth: New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: November 22, 1984

Ethnicity:
*father – Danish, some Swedish
*mother – Ashkenazi Jewish

Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, singer, model, and director. She has played Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, particularly in the films Iron Man 2, The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Widow (2021). Her roles also include the films North (1994), Just Cause, If Lucy Fell, Manny & Lo, Fall (1997), Home Alone 3, The Horse Whisperer, My Brother the Pig, Ghost World, The Man Who Wasn’t There, An American Rhapsody, Eight Legged Freaks, Lost in Translation, Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Perfect Score, A Love Song for Bobby Long, A Good Woman, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, In Good Company, Match Point, The Island (2005), Scoop, The Black Dahlia, The Prestige (2006), The Nanny Diaries, The Other Boleyn Girl, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Spirit (2008), He’s Just Not That Into You, We Bought a Zoo, Hitchcock (2012), Don Jon, Under the Skin, Her (2013), Chef, Lucy (2014), Hail, Caesar!; The Jungle Book, Sing (2016), and its sequel; Ghost in the Shell (2017), Rough Night, Isle of Dogs, Marriage Story, Jojo Rabbit, Asteroid City, My Mother’s Wedding, Fly Me to the Moon, Transformers One, The Phoenician Scheme, and Jurassic World Rebirth; the series Robot Chicken and HitRecord on TV; and the music videos for “What Goes Around… Comes Around” and “Yes We Can.” She directed the film Eleanor the Great.

Scarlett was born in New York City, the daughter of Karsten Olaf Johansson, an architect, and Melanie Sloan, a producer. Scarlett’s father is Danish, from Copenhagen, and is of Danish and Swedish descent. Scarlett’s mother, who is American-born, is Jewish (of Polish Jewish, Belarusian Jewish, and Russian Jewish descent). Scarlett has described herself as Jewish. She celebrates Christmas and Hanukkah. She also holds both American and Danish citizenship. Her sister is actress Vanessa Johansson. A childhood picture of Scarlett, her parents, and three of her siblings can be seen here.

Scarlett is married to comedian, actor, and writer Colin Jost. She has a daughter with her former husband Romain Dauriac; and a son with Colin.

A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2020) stated that Scarlett’s genetic ancestry is:

*49.1% Ashkenazi Jewish
*26.4% Scandinavian
*19.4% French & German
*3.1% Broadly Northwestern European
*1.4% Eastern European
*0.5% Broadly European
*0.1% Unassigned

Genetically, she was found to have a common ancestor with actress Isabella Rossellini, likely through shared Swedish ancestry; as well as actor Michael Douglas, and show host and producer Andy Cohen, through shared Ashkenazi ancestry.

Scarlett’s paternal grandfather was Ejner Johansson (Ejner Bainkamp Johansson, the son of Axel Robert Johansson and Margrethe/Margaret Hansine Hansen). Ejner was born in Copenhagen, and was a screenwriter, art critic, film director, and cultural personality. Axel was born in Furuby, Kronoberg County, Sweden, the son of Johan Magnus Magnusson, who was from Tjureda, Kronobergs län, Småland, and of Carolina/Karalina/Karolina Charlotta Johansdotter, who was from Furuby. Scarlett’s great-grandmother Margrethe was Danish, from Skibby, Horns, Frederiksborg, the daughter of Jens Hansen, who was from Nakkedam, Ferslev, and of Louise Georgine Amalie Beinkamp, who was from Amtmandens Hus, Sorø, Sjælland.

Scarlett’s paternal grandmother was Ingrid Margrethe Jørgensen (the daughter of Oluf Christian Jørgensen and Ingeborg Kirstine Sølver). Ingrid was born in Helsingør, Frederiksborg, Denmark. Oluf was the son of Ole Jørgensen and Marie Christine Hansen. Ingeborg was the daughter of Waldemar Theodor Sølver and Ane Kirstine Jensdatter.

Scarlett’s maternal grandfather was Meyer “Michael” Schlamberg (the son of Schlachne/Shloime/Sol Szlamberg/Schlamberg and Mollie Sussman). The surname Szlamberg/Schlamberg was changed to Sloan. Scarlett’s grandfather Meyer was born in New York, to Polish Jewish parents, with family from Warsaw, and Grójec, Grójec County, Masovian Voivodeship. Schlachne was born in Grójec, the son of Leib Schlamberg and Zlata Schuemonitz. Schlachne’s brother, Scarlett’s great-great-uncle Mosze Szlamberg, was killed in the Holocaust in the Warsaw Ghetto, in Poland, along with at least two of his children, Zlata and Mandil.

Scarlett’s great-uncle, Phil Schlamberg, was the last known combat death of World War II. He was the wingman of WWII fighter pilot, Captain Jerry Yellin (who was also Jewish).

Scarlett’s maternal grandmother was Dorothy Chodosh (the daughter of Isadore/Yitzhok Chodosh and Chana/Anna Weinstein). Dorothy was born in New York, to Jewish emigrants from Minsk, Belarus. Isadore’s father was Boruch Chodosh. Chana’s parents were Gavriel/Gavril Weinstein and Leah Ginenski.

Sources: https://deadline.com

Genealogy of Scarlett Johansson – http://www.geni.com

Genealogy of Scarlett Johansson (focusing on her father’s side) – http://family.nose.dk

Scarlett’s maternal grandfather, Meyer “Michael” Schlamberg, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Scarlett’s maternal grandmother, Dorothy Chodosh, on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org