Scarlett Johansson and her brother Hunter Johansson attend the 2nd Annual Champions Of Rockaway Hurricane Sandy Benefit in November 2014 in New York City. ; Scarlett Johansson with her sister Vanessa Johansson at the 63rd Golden Globe Awards in January 2016 in Los Angeles, California.Photo:Gary Gershoff/WireImage ; Alex Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock
Gary Gershoff/WireImage ; Alex Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock
Scarlett Johanssonmay be one of thehighest-paid actresses in Hollywood, but she’s been open about her modest upbringing while growing up with her siblings in New York City.
Scarlett and her twin brother, Hunter Johansson, are the youngest of four children born to Danish architect Karsten Johansson and producer Melanie Sloan. The twins have two older siblings — Adrian Johansson and Vanessa Johansson — as well as an older half-brother, Christian Johansson, and a younger sister, Fenan Sloan.
TheAsteroid Citystar reflected on what it was like watching her dad and mom provide for her and her siblings.
“We were living on welfare, we were on food stamps,” she said about her childhood on a 2017 episode ofInside the Actors Studio. “My parents were raising four kids in a low-income household in Manhattan. So, it was a lot.”
The family’s financial situation often caused stress in her parents’ relationship. “By the time, my twin brother and I came around, I think my parents’ marriage, it had a lot of strain,” she added. (Karsten and Melanie eventually divorced when Scarlett was a teenager in 1997.)
Despite the challenges, Scarlett looks back on her childhood fondly. The Oscar-nominated actress has also taken her daughter Rose (whom she shares withher ex-husband Romain Dauriac) past the apartment where she and her siblings were brought up.
“One of the great privileges of raising your kids where you grew up is that you get to do stuff and see things you did when you were a kid,” she toldParadein 2021.
Here’s everything to know about Scarlett’s siblings — Christian, Adrian, Vanessa, Hunter and Fenan — and their relationship with their actress sister.
Scarlett’s eldest sibling is a half-brother, Christian, from her father Karsten’s first marriage. With no known social media accounts or red carpet appearances, Christian leads a relatively private life — but he has taken his turn working behind the camera.
Christian is credited with working on several short films in Sweden (his father is half-Swedish). He was a writer and cinematographer on the Swedish short comedy filmBlåljusand a camera lighting technician on another Swedish short film,Skallgång. However, his last credits were in 2004, and he appears to have not worked on any movie in nearly 20 years.
Adrian is Karsten and Melanie’s first child together, who they raised in several small Greenwich Village apartments throughout his childhood and as their family expanded,Varietyreported.
Growing up in Manhattan, Melanie exposed Adrian and his younger siblings to film and theater as kids. “She would take us to see Broadway plays when she could afford it,” Scarlett told the publication. “We’d line up in the half-price ticket line and then go see a show.”
In addition to Broadway plays, Melanie would also show Adrian and the younger Johanssons iconic films — even if they weren’t age-appropriate.
She added, “If anyone ever questioned my mom’s parenting approach, she’d say that all her children were very mature.”
With all of this exposure to the arts, it is no surprise that Adrian — like his sister Scarlett — pursued a career in acting. He appeared in the 2001 filmRainand has lent his voice to several video games, includingGrand Theft Auto IVandRed Dead Redemption.
Scarlett Johansson and her sister Vanessa Johansson attend the Planned Parenthood 100th Anniversary Gala in May 2017 in New York City.Gary Gershoff/WireImage
Gary Gershoff/WireImage
In addition to her older brothers, Scarlett has an older sister named Vanessa, who is also an actress.
Vanessa’s first role was alongside Scarlett in the 1996 comedy dramaManny & Lo, as part of a group in the background.While Vanessa’s part in the film was minor, Scarlett was cast in her first leading role as 11-year-old Amanda a.k.a. Manny.
She landed two lead roles in the 2008 horror filmSharks in Veniceand the 2012 Danish filmSkavengers,but most of her career has been spent as a voice actress. Vanessa has narrated more than 60 audiobooks — and won an AudioFile Earphones Award for her narration work.
Vanessa even collaborated with Scarlett on a narration project: In 2016, the sisters teamed up to recreate Lewis Carroll’sAlice’s Adventures in Wonderlandfor Audible — with Scarlett narrating the classic story and Vanessa directing.
“It was kind of a no-brainer,” Vanessa told PEOPLE of working with Scarlett.
She added, “We’re very close and, as you can imagine, have been playing around and doing funny voices since we were little so it was a great project for the two of us because we’re so used to inventing together.”
Hunter Johansson and Scarlett Johansson at the Bloomberg & Vanity Fair cocktail reception following the 2011 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.Dimitrios Kambouris/VF11/WireImage
Dimitrios Kambouris/VF11/WireImage
Scarlett and her fraternal twin brother, Hunter, have shared a tight bond since childhood.
“When we were growing up in New York City, we led very normal city lives,” Hunter toldParadein 2015. “We rode the subway to public school, went on trips with our grandma to the beach and museums.”
As the twins got older, Scarlett’s fame grew — but their close relationship remained intact. “She is my other half. Nothing is more important to me than my twin,” he added.
TheLost in Translationactress shared that she also felt “very connected to him,” calling him “the most golden-hearted person.” She continued, “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. My twin brother has always been that for me.”
Hunter has accompanied Scarlett to several red carpet events over the years, but that is the extent of his work in Hollywood. Instead, he attended the University of Vermont and New York University before pursuing a career in politics and public service.
According to an interview with theObserver, he worked as a community organizer for Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s office in New York and onBarack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008.
Scarlett Johansson and Hunter Johansson attend the 2010 White House Correspondent’s Dinner.CLINT SPAULDING/Patrick McMullan/Getty
CLINT SPAULDING/Patrick McMullan/Getty
Beyond his political background, Hunter has made a name for himself through his philanthropic work. He spent time working for the Friends of Rockaway, a community organization in Queens, New York, andhosted a benefit with Scarlettin 2014 to help repair and rebuild the area after Hurricane Sandy.
Another natural disaster, Hurricane Maria in 2017, inspired Hunter’s next venture. In response to the devastation to Puerto Rico’s power grid and emergency response systems following the hurricane, Hunter foundedSolar Responders— a non-profit organization dedicated to installing solar power in Puerto Rico’s fire stations.
“If there is a truly altruistic person I know in my life, it’s my brother,” Scarlett told PEOPLE that same year. “He reminds me to be a better person all the time.I’m incredibly proud of him.”
Hunter is equally complimentary of his twin sister; when Scarlett was honored with an American Cinematheque Award in 2021, he took the stage to sing his sister’s praises. “I consider Scarlett my own personal inspiration,” Hunter said,perDeadline. “I’m the luckiest brother in the world.”
In August 2023, Scarlett and Hunter took a “twin quiz” on National Twin Day. Fans learned that one of Hunter’s favorite foods is “boneless wings” and Scarlett prefers to spend her free time with family.
Scarlett shared more details about her “super close” bond with Hunter during a November 2024 appearance onLive with Kelly and Mark.
“Of course we know so much about each other, because we were like … in utero together,” she said. “Which, I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, I guess I’ve always had you around.' He’s great. My brother Hunter is … he’s a gem.”
Scarlett Johansson holding her sister Fenan Sloan in May 2012.Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Fenan accompanied Scarlett as she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012. At the ceremony, which Scarlett’s mother and grandmother also attended, the actress held Fenan as her star was unveiled and posed for photos together.
However, most of Fenan’s childhood has been out of the spotlight. Melanie is raising her in N.Y.C. like her other siblings, and she provides glimpses into their city life together on her Instagram.
The mother-daughter duospend time in Central Park, payvisits to the Bronx Zooandadmire New York’s lit-up storefrontsat Christmas time. Melanie also takes Fenan to Broadway plays, just as she did with her older children: The twosawTinatogetherin 2019.
source: people.com