Born: Nov 22, 1984, New York

KNOWN for her throaty voice, Johansson, 23, scored her first major acting role at the age of eight opposite Ethan Hawke in the off-Broadway play Sophistry.

In 2003, she was rejected by New York University's Tisch School of the Arts but Hollywood has a tougher time turning her down.

She bounced back from such turkeys as the Michael Bay actioner The Island (2005) and the noir thriller The Black Dahlia (2006) by becoming Woody Allen's muse in Match Point (2005) and Scoop (2006). Allen is directing her again in the upcoming comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which reportedly contains a lesbian scene between her and Penelope Cruz.

In her own words: 'Being a movie star is a quality that somebody sort of embodies, and being a celebrity is something that people recognise in you. I just hope to make good movies.'

Must see: Terry Zwigoff's high-school dramedy Ghost World (2001) and Sofia Coppola's Oscar- winning Lost In Translation (2003).

Look out for: The historical epic The Other Boleyn Girl with Eric Bana, Frank Miller's supernatural cop thriller The Spirit, chick flick He's Just Not That Into You and biopic Mary, Queen Of Scots

Say it isn't so: She auditioned for the lead role in The Parent Trap (1998) but lost to Lindsay Lohan.