Florence Pugh, from Little Women to Oppenheimer - a career in flux

Florence Pugh was among the cast in one of the biggest films of 2023: 'Oppenheimer.' She played scientist Jean Tetlock, a love interest of Robert J. Oppenheimer. But that's just the latest in a successful career. Let's have a look at other work by this Hollywood icon!

Although she was born in 1996, the actress is by no means a beginner. She even had an Oscar nomination to her name long before she participated in 'Oppenheimer.' Florence Pugh was nominated for the award of Best Supporting Actress for her work in 'Little Women' (2019).

Pugh was born in Oxford, England, but lived in Spain for a few years. She's a fan of Spanish music, culture, and the flamenco dance. She told Fotogramas magazine that they were "part of my childhood."

Florence Pugh's mother, Deborah, is a dance teacher. She encouraged the actress's artistic development from an early age.

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Of the actress's three siblings, two are also dedicated to the arts. Toby Sebastian is a musician and actor who had his sister Florence perform in one of his music videos. Another sibling, Arabella Gibbins, is a theater actress.

Before getting her first big movie role, Florence Pugh had her own YouTube channel, Flossie Rose. You can find her there, singing covers of famous songs.

At age 16, Florence Pugh made her big-screen debut in the movie 'The Falling', directed by Carol Morley. She and Maisie Williams (from 'Game of Thrones') played two friends in a school that became the theatre of a strange phenomenon.

Among the films that followed in the 2010s were period dramas like 'Macbeth', 'Outlaw King,' 'King Lear,' and 'Little Women.' Her role in the latter film, that of Amy March, earned Florence Pugh an Oscar nomination.

Here she poses at the premiere of the film with Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, and, on the right, Eliza Scanlen.

Besides 'Little Women', an outstanding movie in 2019 was her lead role in 'Midsommar'. The movie is considered one of the best horror films of the last decade.

After a quiet 2020 due to the pandemic, 2021 became the year of Marvel for the British actress.

That year, Marvel released its long-awaited 'Black Widow' movie. The young English actress rocked as Yelena Belova in the film. The film was new in that it showed the first female protagonist in a Marvel movie.

Florence Pugh appeared alongside Scarlett Johansson, or 'the Black Widow,' the Avengers' superheroine. Amidst rumors of Johansson stepping down, critics began pointing to the successful Florence Pugh as the heiress of the Black Widow.

In the same year, she played her character from 'Black Widow,' Yelena Belova, in the series 'Hawkeye' on Disney Plus, co-starring with Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld.

Image: Disney Plus

In an entirely different kind of movie, the psychological thriller 'Don't Worry Darling' directed by Olivia Wilde, she played alongside a star who was new in the job: Harry Styles.

In 'Don't Worry Darling', Florence Pugh plays a housewife who lives in an experimental utopian community. One day, she discovers that her husband has a dark secret.

Florence Pugh co-produced and starred in 'A Good Person' with big names like Morgan Freeman and Molly Shannon. It's a drama written, produced, and directed by Zach Braff, whom you may know from the sitcom 'Scrubs.'

Florence and Zach were never very open about it, but they dated from at least 2019 through 2022. The two met when Florence starred in Zach's short film 'In the Time It Takes to Get There,' which was released in 2019.

There was a lot of controversy about their relationship because they have an age gap of almost two decades. Zach Braff was born in April 1975 and Florence Pugh in January 1996. They kept a low profile and eventually split up. Yet, they remained friends.

By 2023, we could conclude that Florence Pugh knows very well how to pick her roles. She consistently appeared in acclaimed films. One of the most recent was Christopher Nolan's award-winning 'Oppenheimer'.

Image: Universal Pictures

She played a small role that Nolan would even apologize for. But that didn't matter to Pugh. As she told Vanity Fair: "I was like, ‘Please don’t apologize"... "Doesn’t matter. Even if I’m a coffee maker at a café in the back of the room, let’s do it.’"

Image: Universal Pictures

In the 2024 blockbuster 'Dune 2', Florence Pugh plays the role of Princess Irilan. Once again, she manages to draw the attention of the movie industry.

And she's only getting started! In the future, more appearances of Yelena Belova are coming up in the Marvel universe, starting with 'Thunderbolts' in 2025. It's just a matter of time before we see Florence Pugh grab a big award for one of her upcoming movies or series.