Pugh was born on 3 January 1996 in Oxford.[1][2] The daughter of restaurateur Clinton Pugh and dancer Deborah Pugh,[3][4] she has three siblings: actor and musician Toby Sebastian, actress Arabella Gibbins, and Rafaela "Raffie" Pugh.[5] She suffered from tracheomalacia as a child, which led to frequent hospitalisations. The family relocated to Sotogrande in Spain when Pugh was three years old, hoping the warmer weather would improve her health. They lived there until she was six, at which point they moved back to Oxford.[5][6] Also at six years old, Pugh played Mary in a school nativity play, for which she spoke in a Yorkshire accent.[7] She was privately educated at Wychwood School and St Edward's School, Oxford, but disliked how the schools did not support her acting ambitions.[7]
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.[7][8] Tara Brady of The Irish Times deemed Pugh "remarkable", while IndieWire's Oliver Lyttelton called her "striking".[9][10] In the same year, the actress 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.[11][12] She was cast to portray a singer-songwriter in the dramedy pilot Studio City, co-starring Eric McCormack as the character's father, the following year.[13] The pilot was not picked up to series.[14]
In 2016, Pugh starred in the independent drama Lady Macbeth, a film based on the novella Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by Nikolai Leskov, and appeared in the first series of the ITV detective series Marcella.[15] In the former, she played Katherine, an unhappily married teenage bride who grows violent. Pugh attributed her attraction to the part to her partiality for characters whose "motivations are confusing or at least interesting".[16] The role earned the actress acclaim.[16] Reviewing the film for Variety, Guy Lodge commended her portrayal of the character's "complex, under-the-skin transformation".[17] She won the BIFA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film for the role.[18]
Pugh starred in three major films in 2019, during which she was recognised as having experienced an international breakthrough.[25][26] She first starred as 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.[27] Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent credited the actress for being "completely convincing as the wrestler", adding that she had shown "the same defiance, scruffy glamour and self-deprecating humour as the real life [...] Paige."[28] 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.[29] Critics complimented Pugh's portrayal of the desolate Dani Ardor, with David Edelstein of Vulture describing it as "amazingly vivid".[30][31]
Pugh portrayed Yelena Belova, a spy, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Black Widow.[37] Released in July 2021, the film garnered positive reviews from critics, who highlighted the actress's distinctive performance.[38][39] She will reprise the role in the Disney+ superhero series Hawkeye and star in Don't Worry Darling, a psychological thriller film set in California in the 1950s, directed by Olivia Wilde.[40][41] Pugh is set to appear in the films Dolly and A Good Person as well as film adaptations of the novels The Maid by Nita Prose and The Wonder by Emma Donoghue.[42][43][44][45]
Public image and personal life
Pugh was included on the entertainment category of Forbes magazine's annual 30 Under 30 list, which recognises the 30 most influential people in Europe under age 30, in 2019.[46]Time magazine placed her on the artists category of its 100 Next list, which highlights rising stars and emerging leaders in their fields, in 2021.[47]
Pugh is in a relationship with American actor and filmmaker Zach Braff.[1] He directed her in his 2019 short film In the Time it Takes to Get There.[48] They live together in Los Angeles.[49]
Pugh has been nominated for an Academy Award as well as two BAFTA Awards.[33][57] She garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, both for her work in Little Women, as well as a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination. Her performance in Lady Macbeth earned her a British Independent Film Award.[18] She was nominated for a Gotham Award in the Best Actress category for her role in Midsommar.[58] At the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, Pugh was awarded the Trophée Chopard, which is given by a jury of professionals to young actors to recognise and encourage their careers.[59]
^Muir, Kate (11 October 2014). "The Falling at the London Film Festival". The Times. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021. Lydia's best friend for ever [...] is Abbie, played by Florence Pugh, who was nominated for best newcomer at the festival.