Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that
“I think actually admitting that there is no work-life balance is the first step to getting there in a way because it’s just not possible,” Johansson—greatest identified for her function as Black Widow in the Marvel franchise—told CBS Sunday Morning.
The actress mentioned there’ll virtually all the time be a “deficit” someplace, whether or not at work or at house—and over time, she’s discovered to settle for that not all the things may be finished completely.
“I’ve learned to be kinder to myself in that way. You can’t do all of these things all the time,” Johansson mentioned. “There’s just like, ‘Is it good enough?’”
As Scarlett Johansson has taken on extra roles in her life, together with launching a skincare brandelevating two kids (born in 2014 and 2021), and balancing a marriage—she mentioned her definition of success has developed. As a mum or dad specifically, she mentioned it means doing what’s proper, even when it doesn’t all the time make her the “most popular.”
“Somebody as soon as advised me, ‘If you are profitable as a mum or dad like 75% of the time, that’s good—for those who’re doing 75% of it like proper, then you definately’re successful, which is most likely true,’ Johansson mentioned.
Scarlett Johansson grew up on meals stamps—and now she’s one among the highest-paid Hollywood stars
Johansson was the fourth-highest paid actor in 2025, behind Adam Sandler, Tom Cruise, and Mark Wahlberg, in accordance to Forbes. Its net value is about $165 million, estimates Celebrity Net Worth.
But rising up in Manhattan in a household of six, she has mentioned cash was usually tight throughout her childhood. In a 2017 interview with Entertainment Tonightshe recalled her household counting on welfare and meals stamps to get by.
By age 9, Johansson had already begun performing, touchdown her first function in 1994 Rob Reiner-directed comedy, North. Her rise to stardom accelerated with movies like Lost in Translation, Marriage Storyand a string of Marvel blockbusters culminating in the 2021 standalone movie Black Widow.
Beyond performing, Johansson has additionally sometimes used her platform for public and political advocacy, together with longstanding support for feminism and women’s rightsin addition to canvassing towards the reelection of President Donald Trump.
Her profession has even pulled her into the middle of debates round synthetic intelligence. In 2024, Johansson publicly accused OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman of using a voice for the firm’s chatbot that sounded strikingly comparable to her personal after she declined to take part in the mission.
Many high performers agree: work-life balance is not all the time attainable
Johansson is not alone in questioning whether or not true work-life balance exists—even because it’s turn into a top motivator for job seekers. Many excessive achievers have echoed the identical sentiment: succeeding at the highest degree usually comes with tradeoffs.
Emma Watsongreatest identified for enjoying Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter collection, mentioned the intense calls for of filmmaking made balance really feel practically unattainable as she grew up in the highlight.
“I just used to completely sacrifice myself for whatever the thing was I was trying to achieve,” Watson mentioned on the On Purpose podcast final yr.
“Making films, the hours on them are so demanding, that to have your own life alongside that, to have that balance is almost impossible.”
That identical mentality extends past Hollywood. Emma Gredethe CEO of Good American and a founding accomplice of Skims, argued that extraordinary success inevitably requires extraordinary effort.
“If you are leading an extraordinary life, to think that extraordinary effort wouldn’t be coupled to that somehow is crazy,” Grede mentioned on The Diary of a CEO podcast in 2025.
If it is attainable to have true work-life balance, she continued, “tell me who she is, and I’ll show you a mess.”
Even former President Barack Obama has admitted that having a balanced work and life is not going to all the time be attainable.
Speaking on The Pivot Podcast final yr, he mentioned: “If you want to be excellent at anything—sports, music, business, politics—there’s going to be times of your life when you’re out of balance, where you’re just working and you’re single-minded.”