Florence Pugh

Early roles (2014–2018)

While still studying in sixth form, Pugh made her professional acting debut in the 2014 drama The Falling, playing a precocious teenager opposite Maisie Williams.^[8][9] Tara Brady of The Irish Times deemed Pugh "remarkable", while IndieWire's Oliver Lyttelton called her "striking".^[10][11] In the same year, Pugh was nominated for Best British Newcomer at the BFI London Film Festival as well as for Young British / Irish Performer of the Year by the London Film Critics' Circle.^[12][13] The next year, she was cast as a singer-songwriter in the dramedy pilot Studio City, co-starring Eric McCormack as the character's father.^[14] The pilot was not picked up to series.^[15] Pugh later characterised her experience on Studio City negatively due to pressures to change her appearance.^[16]

In 2016, Pugh starred in the independent drama Lady Macbeth, a film based on Nikolai Leskov's novella Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, and appeared in the first series of the ITV detective series Marcella.^[3] In the former, she played Katherine, an unhappily married bride who grows violent. Pugh attributed her attraction to the part to her partiality to characters with "confusing or at least interesting" motivations.^[17] The role earned her acclaim.^[17] She also credited the production with reviving her interest in cinema after being dispirited by Studio City.^[16] Reviewing the film for Variety, Guy Lodge commended her portrayal of the character's "complex, under-the-skin transformation".^[18] She won the BIFA for Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film for the role.^[19]

In 2018, Pugh was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award at the 71st British Academy Film Awards.^[20] She then played Cordelia to Anthony Hopkins's titular King Lear in Richard Eyre's television film King Lear and appeared in the short film Leading Lady Parts in support of the Time's Up initiative.^[8][21] Later that year, Pugh portrayed Elizabeth de Burgh in the Netflix historical film Outlaw King, co-starring Chris Pine as Robert the Bruce. Charles Bramesco of The Guardian found her to be "excellent despite her thankless role".^[22] She next starred in a six-part miniseries adaptation of John le Carré's spy novel The Little Drummer Girl, in which she played an actress who becomes embroiled in an espionage plot.^[23] Her performance was met with praise.^[24] While divided on the series overall, Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair called Pugh "terrific throughout" and added that she "smartly mixes earthiness with sophistication, wisdom with naïveté."^[25]

Breakthrough and critical recognition (2019–present)

Pugh starred in three major films in 2019, during which she was recognised as having experienced an international breakthrough.^[26][27] She first played professional wrestler Paige in Fighting with My Family, a comedy-drama about Paige's career. The film premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews.^[28] Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent called Pugh "completely convincing as the wrestler", adding that she showed "the same defiance, scruffy glamour and self-deprecating humour as the real life ... Paige".^[29] Pugh next headlined Ari Aster's horror film Midsommar, which chronicles an American couple, played by her and Jack Reynor, who travel to Sweden and encounter a cult.^[30] Critics complimented Pugh's portrayal of the desolate Dani Ardor, with David Edelstein of Vulture calling it "amazingly vivid".^[31][32]

In her final film release of the year, Pugh starred in Little Women, a period drama film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel of the same name directed by Greta Gerwig. She portrayed Amy March, a fickle artist, from age 12 into adulthood, and has said that the character is in a "sweet spot of not knowing how to deal with her emotions".^[33] The film received critical acclaim and grossed $209 million.^[34][35] In his review, David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praised the "disarming grace, humor and a willful streak that grows almost imperceptibly into wisdom" with which Pugh managed the part's "tricky contradictions".^[36] Pugh earned nominations for the BAFTA and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.^[34][37]

Pugh portrayed Yelena Belova, a spy, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Black Widow.^[38] She said the film was about "girls who are stolen from around the world".^[39] Released in 2021, it garnered positive reviews from critics, who highlighted Pugh's performance.^[40][41] Caryn James of BBC Culture credited Pugh for making Belova "the most vibrant person in the film, more lived-in than most action-movie characters".^[42] She reprised the role in the Disney+ series Hawkeye later in the year.^[43]

In 2022, Pugh starred in the thriller Don't Worry Darling, directed by Olivia Wilde, and the drama The Wonder, an adaptation of Emma Donoghue's namesake novel.^[44][45] While filming the former, she allegedly clashed with Wilde, causing her to limit the amount of promotion she did for the film.^[46][47] Don't Worry Darling premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, where critics deemed Pugh's performance superior to the film.^[48][49] In The Wonder, she played a nurse in 1862 who is sent to investigate an alleged supernatural miracle. Kevin Maher of The Times found Pugh's "impossibly vivid and convincing" performance to be the film's prime asset.^[50] In her final release of the year, she voiced Goldilocks in the DreamWorks animated film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which earned over $480 million worldwide.^[51][52]

Zach Braff's drama film A Good Person (2023), in which Pugh starred as a car crash survivor, marked her first producing venture.^[53] Instead of opting for a wig, Pugh cut off her own hair for the part.^[54] She also wrote and sang two songs, "The Best Part" and "I Hate Myself", for the film's soundtrack.^[55] In Christopher Nolan's biographical film Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy in the title role, Pugh played Communist Party USA member Jean Tatlock.^[56] Empire's Dan Jolin wrote that she "elegantly dominate[s] her few scenes".^[57] With a worldwide gross of over $967 million, Oppenheimer is Pugh's highest-grossing release.^[52]

Pugh next played Princess Irulan in Dune: Part Two, a sequel to the 2021 science fiction film.^[58] Released in 2024, the film garnered positive reviews and grossed over $711 million worldwide.^[59][60] Andrew Garfield and Pugh starred as a couple navigating cancer in John Crowley's romantic drama We Live in Time.^[61] She shaved her head for her role in the film.^[62] Glenn Whipp of the Los Angeles Times deemed her performance to be the production's prime asset.^[63]

Pugh will next reprise the role of Yelena Belova in the 2025 film Thunderbolts*.^[64] She will also play the lead role of Cathy Ames in a limited series adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden.^[65]

Film

Television

Music videos

Single

Soundtrack