Scarlett Johansson Really Wishes You’d Start Using Her Real Name
Scarlett Johansson is a talented actor with a huge fanbase, and her recent success with the Marvel Cinematic Universe has practically made her a household name.
Hopefully those households are respectful enough to call her by her real name and not her common tabloid headline nickname — ScarJo. Find out why the celebrity hates this moniker and a little more about her impressive career and accomplishments.
Johansson started acting at a young age
Johansson was born in Manhattan and knew from a very early age that she belonged in the spotlight. After auditioning for a few television commercials, she turned her attention to the stage. At age 9, she landed a film appearance, and she hasn’t stopped since. By the time she was a teenager, she had a few leading roles under her belt and was getting critical acclaim for her obvious talent.
After she graduated from high school, she took on several films in quick succession, but many had only lukewarm box office receptions. Running the risk of being just another child star who peaked early and burned out fast, Johansson made a crucial decision about her career. She stepped away from the silver screen and returned to the stage. Cast in the 2010 revival of Arthur Miller’s play A View from the Bridge, Johansson’s Broadway premiere reminded everyone what a talented and passionate star she is.
Later in 2010, Johansson took on the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2. This role would go on to define her professional life and require an immense amount of physical discipline from her as she spent grueling hours doing stunt and strength training. She’d continue to step back into the role of Black Widow time and again throughout the Avengers franchise series of films.
She earns a nickname with a common theme
As Johansson rose in popularity and continued to be thrust into the public eye as she did promotional work for Marvel, she earned the nickname ScarJo. This kind of truncated nickname is common throughout Hollywood and is a portmanteau (a shortened blending of two complete words to create a combination) of her full name, Scarlett Johansson.
Johansson is not the only star to have received such a name. Probably the most enduring version is Jennifer Lopez’s J. Lo. Another Jennifer got similar treatment; Jennifer Lawrence is sometimes called JLaw. Selena Gomez is sometimes referred to as SelGo.
It’s not just women who get their names hacked and spliced, either. Robert Pattinson is often called RPattz.
At least those stars got to keep their own identities. The nickname trend is sometimes used to join not a first and last name but two halves of a celebrity couple into a single entity.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie became Brangelina during their time together. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes became known as TomKat. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are sometimes referred to as Kimye.
Johansson hates the name
While ScarJo may sound like a cute combination that fits with a common nicknaming convention, Johansson is having none of it. She hates being called ScarJo and can’t help put associate the moniker “with, like, pop stars.” She finds it “tacky.” The people who use it are, in her mind, “lazy and flippant.”
As she went on to try to explain just what is so off-putting about the name, she went even further. “And there’s something kind of violent about it. There’s something insulting about it!”
Maybe it’s the association with “scar” that makes it seem violent to her, but whatever the case, the star certainly does not want to be called by this nickname, so we would all do our best to refer to her as Ms. Johansson as she continues her ascent through Hollywood.
