The Rise of Scarlett Johansson: Highest Grossing Actor EVER

MsMojo

Join us as we explore the incredible career of Scarlett Johansson, who rose from child actor to becoming the highest-grossing actor in history. From early roles in cult classics to Marvel stardom as Black Widow, and now fronting major franchises like Jurassic World, Johansson’s journey is a testament to talent, hard work, and versatility. Discover the milestones, awards, and memorable performances that define her lasting Hollywood legacy.

Transcript

00:00Scarlett is the newly crowned highest-grossing actor of all time.

00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo.

00:06And today, we're going through the entire career of Scarlett Johansson,

00:09one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood history.

00:12Not only is she an Oscar-nominated actress,

00:15she's getting behind the camera to direct her first feature film,

00:18plus she is also a successful entrepreneur.

00:22In 2018 and 2019,

00:25Johansson became the highest-paid actress in the entire world.

00:28I think it's exciting to be the only woman in this category.

00:34It's kind of disappointing, actually, to be the only woman in this category.

00:38You know, that was a little bit of a surprise to me.

00:40During the mid-2020s,

00:41she also overtook Samuel L. Jackson

00:43and became the highest-grossing actor in human history.

00:47Alongside being one of Marvel's staple characters for over a decade,

00:50she has acted in a ton of blockbusters and is now the face of Jurassic World.

00:54We put ourselves in a place where we don't belong.

00:57Survival is a long shot.

01:00That's kind of our specialty.

01:01After being a huge nerd for the series for years,

01:05it's a dream come true for Johansson.

01:07She didn't simply become one of Hollywood's top dogs overnight.

01:10Her career has lasted over three decades.

01:13During that time, she has been in over 50 movies

01:16and has been nominated for over 100 awards,

01:19winning at least 42 of them.

01:21This whole awards season has been sort of a whirlwind kind of dream come true,

01:28and I don't know that I have the words to be able to process it exactly right now.

01:32So how did Johansson achieve all that she has today?

01:36The short answer is through hard work and dedication to show business.

01:39If you want the long answer, then keep watching.

01:42So you've done, you know, like 45 films.

01:44You're the busiest woman in Hollywood.

01:46On November 22, 1984, Johansson was born in Manhattan, New York.

01:51She and her family grew interested in acting from a young age.

01:54Yeah, now I have two big brothers to look out for me.

01:57Hey, I know we're all excited to have North as part of our family,

02:00but he hasn't decided if he wants to stay with us yet.

02:03Come on, North, you gotta stay.

02:04Yeah, we really want you.

02:06While she was only seven, one of her siblings landed an agent over her.

02:10This upset the young Johansson, who found the auditioning experience highly overwhelming.

02:15That didn't stop her from following her dreams.

02:18If anything, it only made her more motivated.

02:20I was putting in the legwork, you know what I mean?

02:22I was, like I said, I was going on a lot of auditions,

02:25and I was being rejected most of the time.

02:28Her parents supported her the whole time,

02:30encouraging her to sing and dance for the family frequently.

02:33Another technique of hers was to force herself to cry in the mirror,

02:37which massively improved her acting abilities.

02:40Eventually, she landed herself a place at the Professional Children's School in Manhattan,

02:44which specializes in child actors.

02:46When she was only nine years old,

02:48she earned her first paid role on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

02:52It was only a five-minute sketch, but everyone has to start somewhere.

02:55Andy, come on, of course she can spell it, all right?

02:58She's a spelling bee champ.

02:59That's right.

03:00I'd rather try a harder word.

03:02It's more fun.

03:03Over the next couple of years,

03:04she got a handful of minor roles in some reasonably high-budget movies.

03:08In 1996, she nailed her first leading role in Manny and Lowe.

03:13Well, Laurel was one of those people, and I guess Elaine knew it.

03:19Anyways, if it wasn't bugging them, then it wasn't going to bug me.

03:24She was so good, one reviewer said, quote,

03:26she could become an important actress.

03:29It wasn't enough to make her a star.

03:31However, she wouldn't break through until starring in 2001's Ghost World.

03:35Who could forget this great hit from the 50s, huh?

03:38I feel like it's so I've stepped into a time warp.

03:41Hey, check out the awesome 50s hairdo on our later.

03:46Johansson was cast as one of the two main characters of Ghost World alongside Thora Birch.

03:51Based on a 90s comic, it didn't light up the box office,

03:54but received enough praise to become a cult classic.

03:57Wow, this is so bad, it's almost good.

04:00Fortunately for her, she would be propelled into the spotlight in 2003,

04:04and she hasn't left since.

04:06She signed on to star alongside Bill Murray in Sofia Coppola's hit movie Lost in Translation.

04:11I tried taking pictures, but they're so mediocre, you know?

04:17Every girl goes through a photography phase, you know, like horses.

04:22It had a relatively small budget of $4 million,

04:25but made almost $119 million at the box office.

04:29Although cast when she was 17 and just shy of 19 when the film came out,

04:33Johansson received praise for how well she played an older character.

04:37In the same year, she also played the main character in Girl with a Pearl Earring,

04:42which was less successful but still highly acclaimed.

04:45The industry was so impressed,

04:47she got two nominations for the BAFTA for Best Actress.

04:50This gave her a 40% chance of winning a BAFTA,

04:53which she did for Lost in Translation.

04:55Let's never come here again, because it would never be as much fun.

05:02Whatever you say, you're the boss.

05:04By this point, she had established herself as one of her generation's greatest actors.

05:09She continued to act in huge Hollywood blockbusters,

05:12like the SpongeBob SquarePants movie in 2004,

05:15where she voiced Mindy, Neptune's daughter.

05:17A dream of hers to work with Woody Allen was fulfilled in 2005,

05:21when they worked together on Matchpoint.

05:23It's because you love me and you don't love her.

05:25Is that your interpretation?

05:27It's a child conceived out of genuine passion,

05:29not as part of some fertility project.

05:32During this era, she also worked alongside Michael Bay and Christopher Nolan.

05:36So she might not have been unanimously considered a household name by the late 2000s.

05:41In the early 2010s, almost everyone knew her.

05:45By 2010, she had a reputation for being a diverse actress with a plethora of talents.

05:51This helped her make her Broadway debut in 2010.

05:54Starring in A View from the Bridge, Johansson won a Tony Award.

05:58In the same year, her career changed forever when she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

06:03You're fired.

06:05That's not up to you.

06:06Tony, I want you to meet Agent Romanoff.

06:10Hi.

06:10I'm a shield shadow.

06:11Once we knew you were ill, I was tasked to you by Dr. Fury.

06:13Johansson first took on the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2,

06:17and has appeared in eight films since.

06:19Black Widow even got her own prequel movie in 2021,

06:23which also served as a send-off for Natasha Romanoff.

06:26When the film was released both in cinemas and on streaming services,

06:40it prompted a legal battle between Johansson and Disney.

06:42It was settled out of court, and on the bright side,

06:45they're still on good terms with Johansson becoming executive producer for Thunderbolts.

06:50Fans are desperate for her return, which fuels tons of rumors.

06:54Johansson has said multiple times she'll never reprise the role,

06:58but that doesn't stop diehard fans.

07:00The last five years, I've been trying to do one thing, get to right here.

07:04That's all it's been about, bringing everybody back.

07:06Now, don't you get all decent on me now.

07:08What, you think I want to do it?

07:11I'm trying to save your life, you idiot.

07:13Now, the gap has been filled by Black Widow's adopted sister Yelena Belova,

07:18portrayed by Florence Pugh.

07:19Black Widow wasn't her sole role during her Marvel years.

07:39One of her most critically acclaimed works was Under the Skin in 2013,

07:43an exceptionally artsy film, to put it mildly.

07:45Johansson played the lead character, a bizarre alien wandering around Glasgow.

07:50Like Ghost World, it didn't pack theaters, but that didn't stop it from earning huge praise.

07:55I noticed you're looking at me before.

08:03And?

08:06I like it.

08:08More lucrative roles for Johansson included her and Lucy.

08:12The former was nominated in five separate categories at the Academy Awards.

08:17But what makes me, me, is my ability to grow through my experiences.

08:22So basically, in every moment I'm evolving, just like you.

08:26The latter was much more polarizing, earning recognition for the acting and visuals,

08:31but the plot was considered gibberish by many viewers.

08:34Cells group together, forming a giant web of communication,

08:37which in turn forms matter.

08:39Cells get together, take on one form,

08:43de-form, re-form, makes no difference, it's all the same.

08:48She later joined Wes Anderson for a couple of movies,

08:51starred in both Sing films,

08:52and controversially played the lead character in Ghost in the Shell.

08:56While her performance wasn't bad,

08:58the character she played was Japanese,

09:00which became a major source of criticism.

09:03Johansson rebounded at the 2020 Academy Awards

09:06when she was nominated for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress,

09:09a feat few have achieved.

09:11The former was for Marriage Story,

09:13then the latter for Jojo Rabbit.

09:15Both are considered some of her finest works ever.

09:18Of course, acting isn't the only thing Johansson has done with her life.

09:37She's also released a decent amount of music.

09:39Her first album, Anywhere I Lay My Head,

09:42was released in 2008,

09:43and impressively featured David Bowie.

09:45Falling down, falling down, falling down.

09:55Only one track was original,

09:57with the rest being Tom Waits' covers.

09:59It didn't impress everyone,

10:01a reception shared by her second album, Break Up, from 2009,

10:05created alongside Pete Yorn.

10:07The pair most recently released an EP in 2018.

10:10Sleep will never come that easy

10:13We will always have bad dreams

10:17Philanthropy is another focus.

10:19Across her career,

10:21she has supported at least 30 charities

10:23and even became a global ambassador for Oxfam in 2005.

10:27Unfortunately, she didn't keep the role for long.

10:30In 2014, she stepped down after promoting Sodastream,

10:34an Israeli company with factories in the occupied West Bank.

10:37That is potentially her biggest controversy,

10:40but it doesn't discount the millions she's raised.

10:43Politics is another interest of hers.

10:45Young America, why are we only speaking with half our voice

10:50when so many issues at stake here directly affect us?

10:54She's campaigned for multiple Democratic presidential candidates

10:57and is a massive supporter of feminism.

10:59No judgment, no questions asked.

11:03Planned Parenthood provided a safe place

11:05where I could be treated with gentle guidance.

11:08Somehow, she managed to fit in time to raise a family.

11:12She's been married three times,

11:13currently to Colin Jost,

11:15and is raising two children.

11:27If you're on your phone,

11:28make sure you go into your settings

11:29and switch on notifications.

11:33Johansson has solidified herself as a titan of Hollywood.

11:37Things are likely to keep improving for her,

11:39as she'll likely star in new Jurassic World movies

11:41and is even starting to direct.

11:43I can guarantee your safety.

11:45I mean, more or less.

11:48More or less?

11:49Her directorial debut, Eleanor the Great,

11:51premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025

11:54and received reasonably positive reviews.

11:57I really got lucky with the timing of this film

12:00because in not so many years,

12:02I think it would be less possible.

12:05She also owns her own production company

12:07called These Pictures,

12:08so expect more films from her.

12:10At this point, she could comfortably retire early,

12:13but when she holds so much passion for her craft,

12:16why would she bother?

12:17I think for me, it felt like a,

12:20it was kind of a seamless transition

12:22because I'm working with actors,

12:24which I love to do as an actor.

12:26What's your favorite Scarlett Johansson role?

12:28And was it the first movie you saw her in?

12:31Let us know in the comments below.

12:32You know, some of the Marvel films I've done

12:34are Avengers, obviously very meaningful

12:35to a wide audience of people,

12:37but I have to say,

12:38I Get Ghost Sprawled is my favorite movie a lot.

12:41Do you agree with our picks?

12:42Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo,

12:45and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell

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12:48We'll see you next time.

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