Here's how old Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) are in Avengers: Endgame.
Natasha Romanoff's career as a superhero is well-documented in her 8 MCU appearances as Black Widow. However, with Black Widow's story starting 30 years in Russia — and the movie also tackling the effects of the MCU Blip — both Yelena and Black Widow's age have been a point of confusion for some viewers. Indeed, unless the story calls for it, the MCU rarely mentions the actual age of its characters. Here's everything that audiences need to know about Yelena Belova and Natasha Romanov's ages in their respective appearances in the MCU.
How Old Natasha Romanoff And Yelena Belova Are In Black Widow
The details of Natasha's career as an espionage agent are less well-known in the MCU. Black Widow filled in the gaps by showing how she and Yelena were indoctrinated into the Red Room, what they did for the organization as spies and assassins, and how and why Romanoff eventually chose to defect and S.H.I.E.L.D. This even includes the The Avengers.
From her debut in Iron Man 2 to her death in Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow fought "to do some good in the world" for about 13 years, or roughly one-third of her life. How old is Black Widow, exactly? In Black Widow, Natasha is 32 years old. Captain America: The Winter Soldier established that Romanoff was born in 1984 and Black Widow's prologue introduced young Natasha (Ever Anderson) in 1995 when she was 11 years old.
Meanwhile, young Yelena (Violet McGraw) was 6 years old in Black Widow's prologue, so she was born in 1989. Yelena is 27 when she reunites with Natasha in Black Widow. In real life, Scarlett Johansson was 34 when Black Widow was filmed, so she played her character as slightly younger in her solo film, while Florence Pugh was 23 during production so Yelena is always older than Pugh, especially in Black Widow's post-credits scene set during MCU Phase 4.
How Old Natasha And Yelena Were When Black Widow Died
Natasha's death in Avengers: Endgame happened in 2023, when she traveled to Vormir with Hawkeye to retrieve the Soul Stone and learned from the Red Skull (Ross Marquand) that the sacrifice of life has to be made to acquire the Infinity Stone. Natasha chose to be the sacrifice and so, Romanoff was 39 years old when she died, but the time travel in Avengers: Endgame creates a little bit of a complication. Romanoff and Barton used the Quantum Realm to journey back to 2014 so they could beat Thanos (Josh Brolin) to the Soul Stone by 4 years. In 2014, Natasha was 30, which was how old she was in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
In Black Widow's post-credits scene, Yelena visits Natasha's grave in an Ohio cemetery when her grieving is interrupted by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss), who gives Hawkeye on Disney+. Yelena paying her respects at her sister's memorial is set in either late 2023 or 2024, which should make Yelena either 34 or 35 in MCU Phase 4. However, Hawkeye later revealed this wasn't exactly the case.
How Old Was Yelena In Hawkeye
Hawkeye revealed that Yelena was actually just 30 to 35 years old in MCU Phase 4. This is because, unlike Black Widow's age when she died, calculating Yelena Belova's age in Hawkeye entails factoring in the five years of her life lost during the Snap. Hawkeye even showed how those brought back by Hulk's Blip experienced this in just five seconds. Hawkeye takes place in 2024 in the MCU. Had she not been blipped by Thanos, Yelena would have been around 45.
How Old Will Yelena Be In Thunderbolts
Yelena will be part of the Thunderbolts is set in the present time, which in the MCU means 2025. However, a lot can happen between now and Thunderbolts, especially with the Multiverse Saga and the Skrull invasion, which are both based on lengthy Marvel Comics story arcs. In any case, Thunderbolts is most likely to be set sometime in the near future, which would make their leader, Yelena, around 30 when it comes out. Considering Yelena's inherent heroism and ability to rise above almost every challenge, it's also possible for her to die even younger than Black Widow's age in Natasha's final chronological appearance.
Despite the sheer number of violent encounters Black Widow survived against other superspies, supervillains, and aliens, Natasha Romanoff undeniably and tragically died far too young at only 39. Like Iron Man, Black Widow's death and sacrifice means that she'll forever be ed as a hero. Nat left behind no known significant other — save for maybe Bruce — and she has no children thanks to the hysterectomy forced upon all Widows by the Red Room. But Natasha did leave behind two families who loved her: the Avengers and her Russian family introduced in Black Widow that includes Yelena, Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz). With both Yelena and Red Guardian in Thunderbolts, Black Widow's legacy is alive and well in the MCU.
