"I value my privacy and my personal life - and I certainly don't exploit my personal life."

Behind the spotlight stands a woman who craves peace.

Scarlett Johansson—the actress whose films have grossed over $14.3 billion worldwide—embodies a fascinating psychological paradox. On screen, she's fearless, commanding, and often explosive. In real life? She's the embodiment of Enneagram Type 9: The Peacemaker.

In April 2025, Johansson was named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People—her second appearance on the prestigious list. Her Marvel co-star Chris Evans wrote the tribute, and his words reveal why her Type 9 energy resonates so deeply with those who know her best.

"I consider Scarlett my older sister," Evans wrote—despite being three years her senior. "Even at 17, she had wisdom, talent, and grit beyond her years."

This seeming contradiction—a younger colleague who feels like an older, wiser presence—captures the essence of Type 9 psychology. They often possess an old-soul quality, a grounded stability that others instinctively lean on.

TL;DR: Why Scarlett Johansson is an Enneagram Type 9
  • Peace-Seeking Nature: Johansson maintains firm boundaries around her private life, avoiding social media and public conflict to protect her inner harmony.
  • Quiet Strength: Despite preferring peace, she takes decisive stands on core values—refusing OpenAI's voice request multiple times, then threatening legal action when they seemingly replicated her voice anyway.
  • Collaborative Leadership: Her business ventures (The Outset) and directorial debut (Eleanor the Great) reflect Type 9's preference for harmony-driven, inclusive leadership.
  • Adaptable Yet Grounded: Chris Evans described her as "seamlessly transitioning between independent and mainstream films, refusing to be boxed in"—the Type 9 ability to merge with different environments while maintaining a stable core.
  • Old Soul Energy: Multiple collaborators note her wisdom beyond her years and her role as a grounding presence on set.

How Scarlett Johansson's Type 9 Personality Shaped Her Hollywood Career

Type 9s fundamentally seek harmony and avoid conflict. They prefer staying in the background, maintaining peace at all costs. Yet somehow, Johansson rose to become one of the most recognizable faces in cinema.

This contradiction is precisely what makes her personality so fascinating.

While most Enneagram 9s might shy away from attention, Johansson channeled her Type 9 energy differently. Rather than avoiding the spotlight entirely, she created boundaries around her private life that allowed her to maintain her inner peace while still engaging with a demanding career.

"I am very independent. I can look after myself but I still need a lot of love and care."

This admission reveals the classic Type 9 duality—self-sufficient yet craving connection. It's a window into the mind of an actress who has found a way to thrive in Hollywood without sacrificing her essential nature.

Chris Evans captured this duality perfectly in his TIME100 tribute:

"She has crafted a career entirely her own, seamlessly transitioning between independent and mainstream films, refusing to be boxed in to any one genre or type."

He concluded: "She is a pioneer, a rebel, a force, an artist without limits and, most important, without fear."

Scarlett Johansson's Rise to Fame: A Type 9's Journey to Stardom

Johansson began acting as a child, appearing in films like "North" and "The Horse Whisperer." For a Type 9 child, acting provided a paradoxical comfort—the ability to explore conflict and intense emotions through characters while maintaining personal distance.

For many Type 9 personalities, the performing arts offer a unique outlet. They can express emotions through characters that they might otherwise keep bottled up in their own lives.

Interestingly, it was during "The Horse Whisperer" that a 12-year-old Johansson first felt the pull toward directing—inspired by watching Robert Redford work. This early spark would eventually lead to her 2025 directorial debut, nearly three decades later.

As Natalie Portman noted about working with Johansson:

"It's impressive because a lot of women, and I am among them, will be very careful. I might be like, 'this might sound stupid but is this what they would do in the scene?' She's not like that at all. She's very direct."

This observation reveals how Johansson has learned to channel assertiveness through her work while likely maintaining her Type 9 preference for harmony in her personal life.

The Challenge of Fame for a Peacemaker Personality

For a Type 9, the journey to fame brings unique challenges. While other personality types might feed off public attention, Type 9s typically find it draining and potentially threatening to their sense of peace. Johansson's solution? Creating firm boundaries.

"I don't have a Facebook or a Twitter account."

This reluctance to engage with social media isn't just celebrity aloofness—it's a classic Type 9 protective measure. Social media represents potential conflict, criticism, and chaos—everything a Type 9 instinctively avoids.

Inside Scarlett Johansson's Mind: The Psychology of an Enneagram 9 Celebrity

The core of Type 9 psychology centers around maintaining inner and outer harmony. Johansson demonstrates this in how she approaches both her career and personal ventures.

"The more you do your homework, the more you're free to be intuitive."

This insight about her acting process perfectly captures the Type 9 approach—create structure and safety first, then allow creativity to flow within those boundaries.

Scarlett Johansson's Business Ventures Reflect Her Peaceful Type 9 Nature

In her business ventures, particularly her skincare line The Outset, we see her Type 9 values of simplicity and harmony manifested. The brand emphasizes "clean, hydrating" products that are "radically gentle" — language that reveals Johansson's Type 9 preference for soothing, non-disruptive experiences.

"The Outset is the collection of essentials I wish I had 10 years ago. I struggled with sensitized skin for years before creating this clean, hydrating routine that I now use daily."

The focus on "sensitized" skin needing gentle care mirrors the Type 9's own sensitivity to harshness and disruption.

When a Peacemaker Takes a Stand: The OpenAI Controversy

Perhaps no recent event better illustrates healthy Type 9 psychology than Johansson's confrontation with OpenAI in 2024.

The backstory: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman approached Johansson in September 2023 to voice ChatGPT. She declined for "personal reasons." Altman contacted her again, asking her to reconsider. She declined again. Then, in May 2024, OpenAI unveiled a voice assistant that observers immediately compared to her iconic role in the 2013 film "Her"—a comparison Altman himself invited by posting just the word "her" on social media after the announcement.

Johansson's response was swift and uncharacteristically public.

"I felt I did not want to be at the forefront of that. I just felt it went against my core values."

Her legal team demanded answers about how OpenAI developed the voice they called "Sky." OpenAI paused the voice and insisted it was based on a different actress, but the damage was done.

This is Type 9 integration in action. While 9s typically avoid confrontation, they can become remarkably stubborn and assertive when their fundamental sense of self is violated. Johansson didn't seek this conflict—she said no twice, hoping to maintain peace. But when that boundary was seemingly crossed, she moved toward healthy Type 8 energy: direct, decisive, and unafraid to use her power.

The controversy highlighted significant gaps in legal protections around AI and voice likeness—and positioned Johansson as an unexpected advocate for artists' rights in the age of artificial intelligence.

Scarlett Johansson's Core Fears and Motivations as an Enneagram Type 9

Type 9s are fundamentally motivated by a desire for inner and outer peace. Their deepest fear? Separation and loss. As The Enneagram Institute describes: "Nines fear that they will never find the love and connection they deeply desire, but that they don't feel worthy of."

For Johansson, this fear likely manifests in her approach to relationships.

"You're married, and suddenly you have your own family. There's a nice comfort in that. That part of your life is certain... You've got your home in that other person."

This statement reveals the Type 9's yearning for stability and connection.

The Inner Dialogue of Scarlett Johansson During Public Challenges

When Johansson faced her high-profile divorce from Ryan Reynolds, we can imagine her inner dialogue:

"I need to protect my peace. I can't let this public drama consume me. How do I maintain harmony while going through something so inherently disruptive?"

Her response was characteristically Type 9:

"I don't talk about my personal relationships, it always ends up kicking you in the face."

This boundary-setting protects her inner harmony—a classic Type 9 defense mechanism.

Beyond the Stereotype: How Scarlett Johansson Breaks the Type 9 Mold

While Type 9s typically avoid confrontation, healthy 9s can stand firm on issues that matter deeply to them. Johansson has shown this side repeatedly—in her lawsuit against Disney over "Black Widow" compensation, in her advocacy work, and most recently in the OpenAI confrontation.

When asked about her Disney lawsuit, we can imagine her internal struggle:

"I don't want conflict, but this isn't just about me—it's about fair treatment for everyone. Sometimes peace requires standing up for what's right."

This represents growth for a Type 9, learning that true harmony sometimes requires addressing, rather than avoiding, conflict.

Scarlett Johansson's Collaborative Leadership Style

Johansson has also shown the Type 9's natural mediator tendencies in her business partnerships. As her co-founder Kate Foster Lengyel noted about The Outset:

"The idea that the best idea rises to the top — it's a collaborative process. And I love that collaborative process and being one voice in a group."

This collaborative approach is quintessential Type 9—creating harmony through inclusive decision-making rather than domination.

Scarlett Johansson's Evolution: From Actress to Director and Entrepreneur

In recent years, Johansson has expanded beyond acting into production and entrepreneurship with her skincare line The Outset and her production company, These Pictures.

This evolution reached a milestone in 2025 with Eleanor the Great—her directorial debut. The film, about a 94-year-old woman who forms an unlikely friendship with a 19-year-old student in New York City, premiered at Cannes Film Festival to a six-minute standing ovation.

The story itself is quintessentially Type 9: bridging generational divides, finding connection in unexpected places, creating harmony between seemingly different worlds.

She once said that at age 12, while filming "The Horse Whisperer," she watched Robert Redford direct and thought, "I want to do that someday."

Nearly three decades later, that quiet aspiration became reality—not through aggressive pursuit, but through patient accumulation of craft and wisdom.

Her upcoming slate is remarkably diverse:

  • Jurassic World: Rebirth — Playing a fearless former soldier in the new trilogy
  • The Phoenician Scheme — Wes Anderson's espionage thriller (Cannes 2025)
  • The Exorcist — Mike Flanagan's "fresh, bold" reimagining of the horror classic
  • Featherwood — True-crime thriller where she plays an FBI informant (also producing)
  • The Gauntlet — Christopher McQuarrie's remake, co-starring Tom Cruise
  • Just Cause — Her major television debut on Amazon

According to her business partner at The Outset, Johansson is deeply involved in the company: "She mothers the office." This nurturing approach to leadership is classic healthy Type 9—creating harmony not through withdrawal but through active care.

Life Lessons from Scarlett Johansson's Type 9 Personality Journey

Johansson demonstrates that Type 9s don't have to be passive or invisible to maintain their inner peace. By creating appropriate boundaries, channeling their natural empathy into their work, and learning when to stand firm, Type 9s can achieve remarkable success while staying true to their peaceful core.

Chris Evans summarized it best in his TIME100 tribute:

"I learn from her, I lean on her, and I look up to her. There's absolutely nothing she can't do."

Despite being three years older, Evans describes himself as the younger sibling in their dynamic—a testament to the grounding, wise presence that healthy Type 9s naturally embody.

Her journey suggests that for Type 9s, the path to growth isn't about becoming more aggressive or domineering, but rather about learning when harmony requires action rather than avoidance.

In a world that often celebrates the loudest voices, Johansson's success as a Type 9 reminds us of the power of quiet strength, thoughtful boundaries, and the ability to create harmony amid chaos.

What Scarlett Johansson's Personality Reveals About Finding Balance in Life

The next time you watch Scarlett Johansson transform into a character on screen, remember the Type 9 psychology at work—the careful preparation, the empathetic understanding, and the balance of strength and peace that makes her performances so compelling.

As she continues to evolve as an entrepreneur, producer, and director, we'll likely see even more of her Type 9 gifts emerge—not in spite of her peacekeeping nature, but because of it.

Conclusion: Understanding the Depth Behind Scarlett Johansson's Peaceful Presence

Scarlett Johansson's journey as a Type 9 personality in Hollywood provides fascinating insights into how Peacemakers can thrive in high-pressure environments without losing their essential nature. From her early days in "The Horse Whisperer" to her 2025 directorial triumph at Cannes, her story shows that peace isn't just about avoiding conflict—it's about creating harmony in whatever circumstances life presents.

Whether you're a fan of her films or interested in personality psychology, Johansson's Type 9 traits offer valuable lessons in balancing personal needs with professional success—and knowing when to stand quietly firm.

Disclaimer: This analysis is speculative based on publicly available information and may not reflect Scarlett Johansson's actual personality type.