Florence Pugh is an English actress best known for portraying Yelena Belova in the superhero film “Black Widow”. She was born on January 3, 1996, in Oxford, England, and has three other siblings, including Toby Sebastian, who played Trystane Martell in “Game of Thrones”. After finishing her education at St. Edward’s School, Pugh went straight into acting. Unlike other actors, the aspiring actress didn’t go to acting school or had no formal training.
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In 2014, Pugh made her first appearance in the drama film “The Falling” with fellow actress Maisie Williams. Her performance was considered one of the strongest debuts during that year, earning her nominations from the BFI London Film Festival and London Film Critics Circle. Two years later, Pugh was cast in the independent film “Lady Macbeth”, which received wide critical acclaim. She won Best Performance By An Actress at the British Independent Film Awards.
Pugh’s star continued to rise with excellent performances in Richard Eyre’s film “King Lear” and John le Carre’s espionage film “The Little Drummer Girl”. 2019 was a critical year for the actress as she released three major films, “Fighting With My Family,” “Midsommar,” and “Little Women”. Her collaboration with Ari Aster’s cult horror film was important in launching the actress into mainstream stardom. Meanwhile, Pugh’s role as Amy March snagged her nominations from BAFTA and the Oscars.
The actress’s latest role as the Russian spy, Yelena Belova, further cemented Pugh’s presence in Hollywood. Pugh is also reported to appear in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” sequel. With her catastrophic rise to stardom, it’s no surprise that fans are eager to get to know the Marvel star better. So, is Florence Pugh gay? Let’s check out the actress’s dating history.
VOTE: What is Florence Pugh’s Sexuality?
Florence Pugh and Zach Braff’s Relationship Timeline
In 2019, Pugh almost broke the internet after she was papped holding hands with actor and director, Zach Braff. It’s unclear when the duo first got together, but it’s widely believed that the relationship picked up after their collaboration on one of Braff’s films. The pairing was extremely controversial because of their 21-year age gap. Before the end of the year, the actress would indirectly confirm the relationship by responding to a hater’s comment.
Unfortunately, the hate was too much for the Little Women actress and she soon had to address the online criticism. In a video posted on Instagram, Pugh directly addressed her followers.
I am 24 years old. I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love and I would never in my life tell anyone who they can and cannot love. It is not your place. The abuse that you throw at him is abuse that you are throwing at me, and I don’t want those followers. I do not want to have to be protecting my comments every time I post a picture of him. I really hope that I can continue this relationship with a lot of you.”
Florence Pugh via Instagram, 2020
Shortly after the video was released, Braff opened up about their relationship for the first time. He shared his thoughts with Mr. Porter’s Magazine:
She literally sat down, hit record on her phone and said that. I thought, ‘How could I possibly follow anything as intelligent and articulate as that?’ So, I chose not to.”
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In 2021, the couple sparked engagement rumors after Braff was spotted with a band on his ring finger. However, they didn’t address the issue and the talks eventually died down. The following year, Pugh made headlines once again when she was spotted on a trip to Ibiza with Will Poulter and their friends. The rumors got so heated that the actress was forced to address it in a statement:
No, Will Poulter and I are not dating. We went to the beach with our friends, who are always about half a metre away from us in every picture, but have been cleverly cut out/ framed out so that it looks otherwise. You can LITERALLY see my best friend in the corner of so many shots and Archie’s arms at the sides.”
Florence Pugh via Instagram, 2022
But only two months after her post, Pugh suddenly revealed that she and Braff have quietly parted ways. In an interview with Harper’s BAZAAR, the actress admitted that she “automatically gets a lumpy throat” when she talks about it.
We’ve been trying to do this separation without the world knowing, because it’s been a relationship that everybody has an opinion on. We just felt something like this would really do us the benefit of not having millions of people telling us how happy they are that we’re not together. So we’ve done that.”
Florence Pugh to Harper’s BAZAAR, 2022
“Don’t Worry Darling” Drama Explained
In 2020, Pugh was cast alongside Harry Styles for Olivia Wilde’s film “Don’t Worry Darling”. However, the drama surrounding the cast would soon eclipse the movie itself. Fans began to notice the lack of promotion from Pugh’s side and speculated that there might have been a falling out between the actress and Wilde.
Some sources shared that Pugh was displeased with Wilde’s relationship with Styles, which allegedly started as an on-set affair. Other claims stated that the Marvel star’s displeasure was because she apparently hooked up with the pop star before he moved on with the director. While this claim was never proven, Pugh did share her thoughts regarding the sex scenes in the film.
When it’s reduced to your sex scenes, or to watch the most famous man in the world go down on someone, it’s not why we do it. It’s not why I’m in this industry. Obviously, the nature of hiring the most famous pop star in the world, you’re going to have conversations like that. That’s just not what I’m going to be discussing because [this movie is] bigger and better than that. And the people who made it are bigger and better than that.”
Florence Pugh to Harper’s BAZAAR, 2022
Pugh remained silent, refusing to address the allegations directly even after the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
Is Florence Pugh Gay?
No, Florence Pugh is not gay. She’s only been in one public relationship with Zach Braff, which lasted for almost three years. The actress was also linked to Will Poulter and Harry Styles. According to sources, Pugh is reportedly dating high school friend, Charlie Gooch, after they were spotted hanging out in London. Based on these facts, the actress is considered straight.