Scarlett Johansson

Still in her early 20s, actress Scarlett Johansson has already graduated from starlet to star in a series of smart career moves: Since her teens, she's focused on smart film roles and won the approval of acclaimed directors from Woody Allen and Robert Redford to Sofia Coppola and Christopher Nolan. She's displayed undeniable sex appeal (Esquire magazine named her "Sexiest Woman Alive") while retaining an old-school glamour clinched by fashion endorsements. And she's maintained that high visibility while avoiding the pitiless glare of the tabloids.

Now the New York native is releasing her first album as a singer. And, as with her film work, she's chosen to sidestep safer conventions to build her debut around an artist whose work is as gritty as its interpreter is glamorous. Then again, Johansson's choice to record Tom Waits' songs as the primary repertoire for the album, "Anywhere I Lay My Head," resonates with her admiration and insight into the work of her parents' generation. As the focal point in director Bennett Miller's dreamy, nostalgic video for Bob Dylan's "When the Deal Goes Down," she added another testament to musical tastes that reach far beyond her demographic peers.

SYP