Yelena Belova (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Updated: 12/11/2025, 12:53:14 PM Wikipedia source
Yelena Belova is a fictional character portrayed by Florence Pugh in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. She is depicted as the adopted sister of Natasha Romanoff. Trained as a Black Widow assassin in the Red Room, Belova went on to become one of the greatest child assassins. As an adult, she helps Romanoff and their adoptive parents, Alexei Shostakov and Melina Vostokoff, take down the Red Room operations led by Dreykov. She falls victim to the Blip and, after being restored to life, works as a contract killer for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who tasks her to kill Clint Barton, but Belova spares his life. She later joins a team of other contract killers who go on to form the Thunderbolts, later rebranded as the New Avengers. Pugh appeared as the character in the films Black Widow (2021), Thunderbolts* (2025), and the Disney+ series Hawkeye (2021). An alternate version of Belova appeared in the Disney+ adult animated series Marvel Zombies (2025), also voiced by Pugh. American actress Violet McGraw has also portrayed a younger Belova. Pugh's portrayal has received generally positive reviews.
Infobox
First appearance
Black Widow (2021)
Based on
Yelena Belovaby Devin Grayson J. G. Jones
Adapted by
Eric Pearson Jac Schaeffer Ned Benson
Portrayed by
Florence Pugh Violet McGraw (young)
Aliases
Black Widow
Occupation
Contract killer
Affiliation
New Avengers Thunderbolts Black Widows Red Room
Weapon
Dual batons
Family
Natasha Romanoff (adopted sister) Alexei Shostakov (adopted father) Melina Vostokoff (adopted mother)
Origin
Soviet Union
Nationality
Russian
Tables
· Reception › Accolades
2021
Action Movie Star of 2021
Role(s)
Nominated
2022
Role(s)
Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards
Notes
Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Comedy
2025
| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
| 2021 | Black Widow | People's Choice Awards | Female Movie Star of 2021 | Nominated | |
| Action Movie Star of 2021 | Nominated | ||||
| 2022 | Critics' Choice Super Awards | Best Actress in a Superhero Movie | Won | ||
| Hawkeye | Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Comedy | Nominated | ||
| 2025 | Thunderbolts* | Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Butt-Kicker | Nominated | |
| Astra Midseason Movie Awards | Best Actress | Won | |||
| Critics' Choice Super Awards | Best Actress in a Superhero Movie | Won |
References
- As depicted in Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- As depicted in the films Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
- Identified off-screen as the Fantastic Four's spacecraft and logo, arriving in Earth-616 from their home reality.
- As depicted in the film Avengers: Endgame (2019).
- Black Widowhttps://www.disneyplus.com/video/6e3d316b-778f-4050-ad1a-daef6cba38d8
- The Hollywood Reporterhttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/florence-pugh-talks-join-scarlett-johansson-black-widow-1195519
- Varietyhttps://variety.com/2019/film/news/florence-pugh-scarlett-johansson-black-widow-1203165665/
- "Marvel has been high on Florence since December for the part but did open it up at the top of the year with other actresses meeting (Saorise also in the mix) but in the end she wins the coveted role"https://x.com/krolljvar/status/1107780020976513024
- Deadline Hollywoodhttps://deadline.com/2019/04/david-harbour-disney-marvel-black-widow-movie-1202587737/
- The Directhttps://thedirect.com/article/black-widow-2025-mcu-movie-return
- Empirehttps://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/black-widow-movie-hand-baton-florence-pugh-says-cate-shortland-exclusive/
- "Black Widow Advance"https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/black_widow_advance_updated_final_04-29-21_e1222ad3.pdf
- Varietyhttps://variety.com/2021/film/news/black-widow-scarlett-johansson-florence-pugh-interview-1235012950/
- The Directhttps://thedirect.com/article/black-widow-scarlett-johansson-yelena-movie-deleted-scene
- Colliderhttps://collider.com/black-widow-movie-scarlett-johansson-interview-sexualization/
- GamesRadar+https://www.gamesradar.com/black-widow-2-florence-pugh-scarlett-johansson/
- Screen Ranthttps://screenrant.com/thunderbolts-yelena-black-widow-hawkeye-change-different-florence-pugh/
- Varietyhttps://variety.com/2021/film/news/black-widow-post-credits-scene-florence-pugh-julia-louis-dreyfus-1235015400/
- Games Radarhttps://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/marvel-movies/the-thunderbolts-cast-were-given-ownership-over-their-characters-which-meant-florence-pugh-could-change-that-death-defying-opening-scene-for-the-better/
- Empirehttps://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/yelena-belova-thunderbolts-completely-different-person-marvel-florence-pugh-exclusive/
- Varietyhttps://variety.com/2025/film/news/florence-pugh-marvel-jumped-off-second-tallest-building-thunderbolts-1236369280/
- Varietyhttps://variety.com/2025/film/features/florence-pugh-thunderbolts-interview-1236385097/
- ComicBook.comhttps://comicbook.com/marvel/news/comic-con-2022-marvel-zombies-characters-villains-revealed/
- Game Ranthttps://gamerant.com/mcu-yelena-belova-differences-from-comics/
- RogerEbert.comhttps://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/black-widow-movie-review-2021
- James, Carynhttps://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210629-film-review-four-stars-for-exciting-black-widow
- Colliderhttps://collider.com/hawkeye-episode-5-yelena-belova-florence-pugh-mcu/
- The A.V. Clubhttps://www.avclub.com/hawkeye-celebrates-girls-night-1848220447
- The A.V. Clubhttps://www.avclub.com/hawkeye-s-finale-occasionally-hits-the-mark-1848258833
- Colliderhttps://collider.com/hawkeye-season-finale-review-so-this-is-christmas-mcu/
- IGNhttps://www.ign.com/articles/hawkeye-review-episode-6
- "Movie Review: 'Thunderbolts' is Marvel, and Florence Pugh, in high gear"https://apnews.com/article/thunderbolts-review-marvel-florence-pugh-6617d8217ed6c96a364e10132ae98394
- "Thunderbolts* review: 'The greatest Marvel offering in years'"https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250429-thunderbolts-film-review
- Entertainment Weeklyhttps://ew.com/awards/peoples-choice-awards-2021-nominees-list/
- The Hollywood Reporterhttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/critics-choice-super-awards-2022-nominations-nominees-list-1235097398/
- Entertainment Weeklyhttps://ew.com/awards/2022-critics-choice-super-awards-winners-list/
- The Hollywood Reporterhttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/hca-tv-awards-severance-ted-lasso-dopesick-winners-night-2-1235198782/
- Deadline Hollywoodhttps://deadline.com/2025/05/kids-choice-awards-nominations-ariana-grande-lady-gaga-1236398184/
- Next Best Picturehttps://nextbestpicture.com/the-2025-hollywood-creative-alliance-hca-midseason-astra-award-nominations/
- "'Sinners' Sweeps the 2025 Midseason Movie Astra Awards"https://filmobsessive.com/film/film-news/film-awards/sinners-sweeps-the-2025-midseason-movie-astra-awards/
- Critics Choice Associationhttps://www.criticschoice.com/2025/08/07/winners-announced-for-the-critics-choice-associations-5th-annual-critics-choice-super-awards-honoring-superhero-science-fiction-fantasy-horror-and-action-movies-and-series/