The Most Successful Actress of All Time

Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (b. 1984) The daughter of a Danish architect father and a Jewish producer mother from the Bronx, she was named ‘Sexiest Woman Alive’ in 2006. Actor, model, singer, a Global Ambassador for Oxfam and a critic of the media’s obsession with body image. Her most notable film role was alongside fellow Jewish actress Natalie Portman in The Other Boleyn Girl, and most recently in Iron Man 2, alongside fellow (half) Jewish actor Robert Downey Jr.

UPDATE [2018]: Since first writing about Scarlett Johansson nearly a decade ago (she was one of the very first Jews of the Week!), her fame and success has grown tremendously. She has become one of Hollywood’s highest-paid stars, and in 2017 officially became the highest-grossing actress of all time, with her movies having earned over $3.6 billion. Some of that is owed to her popular role as the Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Johansson is also an active and generous philanthropist, and a proud supporter of Israel. Among the many organizations she supports are Stand Up to Cancer, Too Many Women, Oxfam, and USA Harvest. In 2012, she was honoured with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

Words of the Week

Life and death are in the hands of the tongue.
– King Solomon (Proverbs 18:21)

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.