Despite being one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actresses, Scarlett Johansson has openly shared her humble beginnings growing up in New York City with her brothers.
Her parents’ relationship was often strained due to the family’s financial difficulties. “I believe there was a lot of strain in my parents’ marriage by the time my twin brother and I came along,” she continued. Eventually, in 1997, when Scarlett was a teenager, her parents Karsten and Melanie divorced.
Despite the challenges, Scarlett has fond memories of her early years. She enjoys taking her daughter Rose—whom she shares with her ex-husband Romain Dauriac—past the flat where she and her brothers were raised.
“You get to do stuff and see things you did when you were a kid, which is one of the great privileges of raising your kids where you grew up,” she told Parade in 2021.
Here’s a look into the lives of Scarlett’s siblings: Christian, Adrian, Vanessa, Hunter, and Fenan, and their bond with their famous sister.
Christian Johansson
Christian is Scarlett’s eldest sibling and her father Karsten’s half-brother from a previous marriage. Christians lead a very private life, rarely appearing on red carpets or social media. However, he has experience working behind the scenes in film.
Christian, whose father is half Swedish, has worked on several short films in Sweden. He served as a camera lighting specialist on the short movie Skallgång and as a writer and cinematographer on the short comedy Blåljus. His last known film credits were from 2004, and he hasn’t been involved in a film for nearly twenty years.
Adrian Johansson
Adrian is the first child of Karsten and Melanie, who were raised in various small apartments in Greenwich Village as their family grew.
Melanie exposed Adrian and his younger brothers to theater and movies from a young age, growing up in Manhattan. “When she could afford it,” Scarlett shared, “she would take us to see Broadway plays.” They often got half-price tickets and headed to the shows.
Despite some movies being age-inappropriate, Melanie would screen legendary films for her children. “She showed my siblings and me many age-inappropriate films like Silence of the Lambs when I was seven,” Scarlett recalled.
“I still remember seeing Schindler’s List in the theater when I was nine, the little girl in the red coat literally haunted me.”
Like his sister Scarlett, Adrian pursued an acting career, influenced by his early exposure to the arts. He has voiced characters in several video games, such as Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption, and starred in the 2001 movie Rain.
Vanessa Johansson
Scarlett’s older sister, Vanessa, is also an actress. Vanessa made her screen debut in the comic drama Manny & Lo (1996), co-starring with Scarlett in a background ensemble. Vanessa had a small role, while Scarlett played her first main role as 11-year-old Amanda, also known as Manny.
After Manny & Lo, Vanessa studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and attended Carnegie Mellon University.
Although she landed leading parts in the Danish film Skavengers (2012) and the horror movie Sharks in Venice (2008), much of her career has been devoted to voice acting. Vanessa has narrated over 60 audiobooks, earning her an AudioFile Earphones Award.
“I love creating characters, doing different accents, being moved by stories, and conveying that in my performance,” Vanessa said in a 2018 interview with FangirlNation.
“It is an amazing way for someone with creativity to use many of the skills they have developed as actors in a different setting.”
In 2016, Vanessa and Scarlett collaborated on a narration project, recreating Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for Audible, with Scarlett narrating and Vanessa directing.
Hunter Johansson
Scarlett and her fraternal twin brother Hunter have had a close relationship since childhood.
“We led very normal city lives growing up in New York City,” Hunter said in a 2015 interview with Parade. “We traveled to the beach and museums with our grandmother, and we took the subway to public school.”
As Scarlett’s fame grew, their deep bond remained strong. “She is my partner in crime. My twin is the most significant thing in my life,” he said.
Scarlett described Hunter as “the most golden-hearted person,” adding, “I think a lot of people spend their life looking for a partner, someone to be a mirror to reflect upon, to remind them that they’ve lived.”
Hunter’s career in Hollywood has mainly consisted of accompanying Scarlett to red-carpet events over the years. Instead, he studied at New York University and the University of Vermont before choosing a career in politics and public service.
In 2008, he worked on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and served as a neighborhood organizer for Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s office.
Fenan Sloan
Scarlett’s mother adopted Fenan, a baby girl, making Scarlett a big sister once more.
In 2012, Fenan watched Scarlett earn her Hollywood Walk of Fame star. Scarlett’s mother and grandmother attended the event, where Scarlett held Fenan as her star was revealed, and they posed for pictures.
Fenan’s early years were mostly spent out of the public eye. Like her older siblings, Melanie is raising her in New York City, sharing photos of their city life on Instagram.
The mother-daughter team visits the Bronx Zoo, spends time in Central Park, and takes in the city’s decorated businesses during the holiday season. Like she does with her elder kids, Melanie regularly takes Fenan to Broadway shows. In 2019, the two saw Tina together.
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