Scarlett Johansson on parenting, life and Avengers: Age of Ultron

SCARLETT Johansson isn’t pretending to know any more about parenting than anyone else. But there is one thing she is sure of.

WHILE many celebrities new to motherhood make it sound effortless, as though they slipped into a vastly altered lifestyle with barely a glitch, Scarlett Johansson, who gave birth to Rose Dorothy last September, is a little more grounded.

“I’m such a newbie at this,” she admitted to News.com.au.

“I always really hate it when actors or people in the spotlight make giant grandiose statements about parenthood because it’s so, so personal,” she smiles.

“And I don’t profess to know anything more about parenting than anybody else.”

Scarlett Johansson one the red carpet of today’s MTV Movie Awards.

Johansson, 30, is raising her daughter with second hubby, French advertising executive, Romain Dauriac, between their homes in Paris and New York City.

Although she doesn’t wax lyrical about the joys or challenges of motherhood, she does acknowledge that her career and most certainly her life has forever changed.

“I have a greater responsibility now so that will definitely affect my schedule.

“Before (Rose), I just made the choices that were affecting me but now I’m responsible for somebody else. Eventually I will have to work less and it might even make me more discerning,” she says.

“We’ll see, but I think having any kind of huge life-changing event happen to you, such as having children, and it’s such a different life now in the best possible way, is very, very inspiring,” she offers. “I think it will hopefully enrich my work as well as my understanding of myself. That’s the hope anyway, you never know.”

With Mother’s Day approaching, what life lessons does she hope to pass onto baby Rose from her mother?

“I think my mom, really more than anything, shaped me in many ways. She was very, very encouraging of our separate interests growing up,” she says, referring to her twin brother, Hunter. “She just made us feel that you could do whatever you wanted to do, as long as you really wanted to do it, and that’s why I got into acting.”

A precocious child, Johansson began her professional career at age 8 in an off Broadway play opposite Ethan Hawke, and she made her onscreen debut the following year in the movie, North. “As a child I loved make-believe and playing pretend, and I had tons of support from my mom. My brother loved baseball and was a part of Little League and she was so encouraging of both of us to be enthusiastic and follow what made us feel good.”

Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) Picture: Supplied

This afternoon at the Walt Disney studios in Burbank, Johansson is doing promotional duty conducting interviews for the eagerly awaited sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron, in which she reprises her role as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow.

She looks remarkably trim in skinny black jeans, a snug-fitting patterned blue sweater and red heels. Her hair is cropped and fashionably swept to one side.

“People loved the first Avengers. It’s fun to watch; it’s a good movie,” she says.

The 2012 hit grossed US$1.5 billion worldwide and Ultron is expected to rake in over US$200 million in its opening weekend. “The visuals are spectacular and it’s exciting to be a part of a genre film that’s good. So for me, career-wise it’s been wonderful.”

As a new wife and mother, this is a busy time in Johansson’s life and she appears relaxed and happy. She married Dauriac on October 1, 2014, in Montana.

The couple met in 2012 and he popped the question the following year. She was formerly married to Ryan Reynolds from 2008 to 2010 (he is currently married to Blake Lively). In between marriages, Johansson enjoyed a brief fling with Sean Penn, as well a relationship with an advertising executive, Nate Naylor.

With an A-list career and a happy, full life, it sounds as though Johansson is in a good place. While it’s unlikely we’ll hear the blonde beauty espousing her domestic achievements a la Martha Stewart or Gwyneth Paltrow, she does reveal, “I make a mean frittata.”

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff in the Marvel series of movies. Picture: Supplied

Originally published as Scarlett Johansson on parenting, life and Avengers: Age of Ultron