Scarlett Ingrid Johansson is an American actress. The world’s highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. Johansson’s films have grossed over $15.4 billion worldwide, making her the highest-grossing box office female star of all time. She has received various accolades, including a BAFTA, a Tony Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.
In 2006, Johansson sang the track “Summertime” for Unexpected Sreams – Songs for the Stars, a non-profit collection of songs recorded by Hollywood actors. She performed with the Jesus and Mary Chain for a Coachella reunion show in Indio, California, in April 2007. The following year, Johansson appeared as the leading lady in Justin Timberlake’s music video, for “What Goes Around…Comes Around”, which was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.
In May 2008, Johansson released her debut album Anywhere I Lay My Head, which consists of one original song and ten cover versions of Tom Waits songs, and features David Bowie and members from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Celebration. Reviews of the album were mixed. Spin was not particularly impressed with Johansson’s singing. Some critics found it to be “surprisingly alluring”, “a bravely eccentric selection”, and “a brilliant album” with “ghostly magic”. NME named the album the “23rd best album of 2008”, and it peaked at number 126 on the Billboard. Johansson started listening to Waits when she was 11 or 12 years old, and said of him, “His melodies are so beautiful, his voice is so distinct and I had my own way of doing Tom Waits songs.”
In September 2009, Johansson and singer-songwriter Pete Yorn released a collaborative album, Break Up, inspired by Serge Gainsbourg’s duets with Brigitte Bardot. The album reached number 41 in the US. In 2010, Steel Train released Terrible Thrills Vol. 1, which includes their favourite female artists singing songs from their self-titled album. Johansson is the first artist on the album, singing “Bullet”. Johansson sang “One Whole Hour” for the 2011 soundtrack of the documentary film Wretches & Jabberers (2010). and in 2012 sang on a J. Ralph track entitled “Before My Time” for the end credits of the climate documentary Chasing Ice (2012).
In February 2015, Johansson formed a band called the Singles with Este Haim from HAIM, Holly Miranda, Kendra Morris, and Julia Haltigan. The group’s first single was called “Candy”. Johansson was issued a cease and desist order from the lead singer of the Los Angeles-based rock band the Singles, demanding she stop using their name. In 2016, she performed “Trust in Me” for The Jungle Book soundtrack and “Set It All Free” and “I Don’t Wanna” for Sing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. In June 2018, Johansson collaborated with Pete Yorn again for an EP titled Apart.
