Esquire Magazine has named Jewish actress Scarlett Johansson as the sexiest woman alive for the second time since 2006. Johansson is the only woman to receive the magazine’s title twice, report our friends at JNS.
Esquire writes about Johansson: “She seems not to care, to be bored, aloof. But that’s as if drawn only from looking at pictures and not reading the text. Truth is, Scarlett is a politically astute, card-playing, magic-loving smart-ass, fairly generous in her time and attentions, a woman who will share her sandwich, a woman who likes horsing around in a bar on a muggy afternoon, a platter of hand-cut vegetables at the ready.”
“You know, I gotta hustle. I’m a twenty-eight-year-old woman in the movie business, right?” she told Esquire. “Pretty soon the roles you’re offered all become mothers. Then they just sort of stop. I have to hedge against that with work—theater, producing, this thing with Esquire.”
Johansson was born on November 22, 1984 in New York City. Her father, Karsten Johansson, is a Danish-born architect, and her paternal grandfather, Ejner Johansson, was a screenwriter and director. Her mother, Melanie Sloan, a producer, comes from an Ashkenazi Jewish family from the Bronx. Johansson began her theater training at Professional Children’s School in Manhattan and graduated in 2002.
According to JNS, Esquire’s pick last year was Mila Kunis, also Jewish. But for Scarlett this is the second time in this role, after first being picked in 2006.
I’m not sure what it means, that the sexiest woman in the world, bar none, is Jewish – and an Ashkenazi Jew, to be precise.
Johansson is registered as an independent and campaigned for Democratic candidate John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. About George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection, she said, “[I am] disappointed. I think it was a disappointment for a large percentage of the population.”
Johansson also campaigned for Democratic candidate Barack Obama: Her efforts included appearances in Iowa during January 2008, where her efforts were targeted at younger voters; an appearance at Cornell College; and a speaking engagement at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota on Super Tuesday, 2008. Johansson appeared in the 2008 music video for The Black Eyed Peas front man will.i.am’s song, “Yes We Can”, directed by Jesse Dylan, a song inspired by Obama’s speech following the 2008 New Hampshire primary.
On February 7, 2012, Johansson and Anna Wintour hosted a fashion launch of pro-Obama clothing, bags and accessories, with proceeds going to the President’s re-election campaign. She addressed voters at the Democratic National Convention on September 6, 2012, calling for President Obama’s reelection and for more engagement from young voters.
Johansson publicly endorsed and supported Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s 2013 run for New York City Comptroller by hosting a series of fundraisers.