Marvel Fans Are Showing Love to Thunderbolts Star Florence Pugh on Her Birthday

Marvel fans are ringing in the New Year by wishing Thunderbolts* star Florence Pugh a happy birthday. Pugh plays Yelena Belova, the sister of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yelena debuted in 2021’s Black Widow and had a guest appearance in the Disney+ series Hawkeye, but will soon take on a larger role in this year’s Thunderbolts*. With Black Widow gone, it’s up to her sister the White Widow to carry on the good fight of redeemed Red Room operatives. While we wait for the Thunderbolts* debut in May, we can start January by celebrating Florence Pugh’s birthday.

Florence Pugh fans have taken to social media to wish the actress a happy 29th birthday. She was born on January 3, 1996, and is one year away from reaching the big 3-0. Before we focus on that milestone, we should appreciate all that Pugh has accomplished in her time in Hollywood. Her breakout performances came in Midsommar, but she had already gained a following from projects such as Lady Macbeth and Fighting with My Family. Of course, it wasn’t until she joined the MCU that a larger segment of the population started to appreciate Pugh’s many talents. She brought intensity and humor to the role of Yelena Belova, and Thunderbolts* will be the first MCU feature with her as the main star.

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Many of the dedications to Florence Pugh on her birthday include photos of her from the movies. “Happy 29th birthday to Florence Pugh!” a post from Film Updates on X (formerly Twitter) reads. The post includes images from Pugh’s various projects such as Midsommar, Don’t Worry Darling, Dune: Part Two, and the upcoming Thunderbolts*. ScreenTime went with images from Black Widow, Dune: Part Two, and Oppenheimer.

Screen Rant posed the question of what is your favorite role that Florence Pugh has performed. Yelena Belova got many responses, with some fans stating she is brilliant in anything she acts in. A special shoutout went out to Pugh as Cordelia in 2018’s King Lear and her role as the wrestler Paige (Saraya) in Fighting with My Family.

Florence Pugh was the first actor to share footage from the Thunderbolts* set back in March. In her Instagram video, Pugh walked across the film’s production and introduced some of the film’s crew. Next, she introduced viewers to Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier, who was in front of monitors showing a scene of Yelena. The whole time, Pugh jokes about not being able to say the name of the project she and Schreier are working on, even though Thunderbolts is clearly on the director’s chairs. The official Marvel Studios social media even shared Pugh’s video, indicating that the video will not go the way of some other MCU stars’ accidental leaks.

What is the asterisk for in Marvel’s Thunderbolts*?

Fans have been wondering what the asterisk stands for in the Thunderbolts* title. David Harbour recently dropped some clues about the asterisk meaning after the release of a new Thunderbolts* trailer at D23 Expo Brazil. 

Omelet spoke to David Harbour at D23 Expo Brazil about Thunderbolts*, where the Red Guardian actor opened up about the meaning behind the asterisk. “I think it relates to the whole movie,” he said. Harbour then related a story about how people will go on social media to correct misspellings while using an asterisk to point out the error. “Things may not be what they seem to be,” he teased.

Directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts* stars Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris
Bauer, Wendell Edward Pierce, with David Harbour, with Hannah John-Kamen, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The movie premieres May 2, 2025.