Who Played Gwen Stacy? The Actresses and Voices of Gwen and Spider-Gwen

Who has played Gwen Stacy? The full table

Gwen Stacy has had two faces in live action and, in the animated Spider-Verse films, the same original voice since 2018, that of Hailee Steinfeld. That is often where the confusion starts: the student Gwen Stacy of the live-action films, Peter Parker's classmate, and the Spider-Gwen of the multiverse, a masked heroine from another universe, are not played by the same actresses. For everything about the masked version, our article Spider-Gwen, the Spider-Woman fans adore paints a portrait of the character. Here, just one question: who played her, and who gave her her voice.

The cartoon voices, the video-game voices and the French dub voices are detailed further down. For the full cast of each film, our page Every Spider-Man film cast brings together the casts film by film.

Who is Gwen Stacy, before the films?

Gwen Stacy was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko: she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 31, dated December 1965. Her fate turns in No. 121, in June 1973, with the story 'The Night Gwen Stacy Died': the Green Goblin throws her from the top of a bridge, Spider-Man catches her with a web, but the shock breaks her neck. That moment is broken down in our analysis of the death of Gwen Stacy and in the arc that changed Spider-Man.

Forty-one years later, Gwen was reborn in another form. Spider-Gwen, the Gwen Stacy of a parallel universe, Earth-65, bitten in Peter Parker's place, debuted in Edge of Spider-Verse No. 2 in September 2014, created by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez. It is this version that would become the heroine of the animated films. Peter Parker's major sagas are summarised on our page on Spider-Man's great story arcs, and the controversial arc Sins Past has an analysis of its own.

Spider-Man Couple Necklace

Two round-pendant necklaces, one with Spider-Man's red mask, the other with the white, pink-eyed mask in Spider-Gwen style, joined by a heart split into two halves: a gift to share.

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More designs are waiting in our Spider-Man necklaces section, and the character's whole range is in our Spider-Gwen collection.

Bryce Dallas Howard, the Gwen of Spider-Man 3

The first Gwen Stacy on screen is Bryce Dallas Howard, in Spider-Man 3 (2007) by Sam Raimi. She is a classmate of Peter's and his lab partner, the daughter of Captain George Stacy, played by James Cromwell, and Eddie Brock's ex-girlfriend. The actress is the daughter of the director Ron Howard.

Her part is first of all that of an unwitting rival: Spider-Man saves her, then kisses her at a public ceremony, which hurts Mary Jane. Gwen does not die in this film, contrary to what people sometimes believe when they mix the sagas up. In Sam Raimi's trilogy, it is Mary Jane, played by Kirsten Dunst, who remains the main heroine, and the comparison between the two characters, from the comics to the films, is in Gwen Stacy vs Mary Jane.

Emma Stone, Marc Webb's Gwen

Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), released in France as Le Destin d'un héros: the two Marc Webb films, opposite Andrew Garfield. This Gwen is Peter's classmate and sweetheart, and Dr Curt Connors's assistant at Oscorp. Her father, Captain George Stacy, is played by Denis Leary in both films.

The second film takes up the tragedy from the comics. Gwen dies in a clock tower: Harry Osborn, now the Green Goblin, has taken her there, and Peter cannot stop her fall. The scene transposes Gwen's death from the 1973 comic, swapping the bridge for that tower. The planned sequels, The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and a Sinister Six film, were then abandoned; in 2015 Sony struck a deal to relaunch Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which brought Marc Webb's saga to an end. We tell the story of that abandoned project in why Amazing Spider-Man 3 never happened.

For comics readers, Gwen's end had been on the cards since 1973; on screen it was a first, since Sam Raimi's Gwen came out of Spider-Man 3 alive. That is what sets Emma Stone's version apart: she is the only Gwen in live action to meet the tragic fate of the character on the page, and everything that follows in this Peter Parker's story flows from it, right up to Andrew Garfield's return in No Way Home.

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Both Marc Webb films can be found in our Spider-Man DVDs and Blu-rays section, and posters of the web-slinger in our Spider-Man posters.

No Way Home and Brand New Day: has Gwen come back?

No. Emma Stone does not appear in No Way Home (2021), despite the rumours before release. Gwen is only mentioned there, by Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker, still haunted by her death. The film does pay her a quiet tribute: during the final fight, this Peter catches MJ in mid-fall, something he had failed to do for Gwen in the 2014 film.

No actress has been announced for a live-action Gwen Stacy in the MCU, and no return for Emma Stone has been confirmed. To follow the films in order, see our guide to the Spider-Man films.

Hailee Steinfeld, the Gwen of the Spider-Verse

In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and in Across the Spider-Verse (2023), the Gwen Stacy of Earth-65 is voiced in the original version by Hailee Steinfeld. On screen she goes by the name Spider-Woman: 'Spider-Gwen' is only a nickname from fans and from the comics. In Across the Spider-Verse, her father, Captain George Stacy, is voiced in the original version by Shea Whigham, and Hailee Steinfeld recorded some scenes in the same room as him. Her relationship with Miles is told in Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy.

Hailee Steinfeld is confirmed in the cast of Beyond the Spider-Verse, alongside Shameik Moore, the voice of Miles Morales: Sony confirmed it at CinemaCon in March 2025, and in April 2025 the actress said she had started recording. The film is due out in France on 23/06/2027, according to its AlloCiné listing. In June 2023, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller said the script had Gwen crossing paths with other versions of herself, while noting that the story could still change. Since 2018 Sony has also been developing a spin-off film centred on spider heroines, including Gwen; no release date has been announced. To understand the rules of this multiverse, our page Spider-Verse: understanding the multiverse sets things out.

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Spider-Gwen's white and black suit, with its hood, its pink web-patterned forearms and its white mask with pink eyes, to take on the Spider-Verse version of Gwen.

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The Spider-Gwen costume comes in versions for every age: our Spider-Gwen cosplay guide helps you put the outfit together, our Spider-Gwen costume guide for girls looks after the youngest fans, and the adult versions are in the Spider-Man costumes for women section. For everyday wear, our Spider-Man jumpers and sweatshirts and our Spider-Verse collection carry Gwen's style beyond fancy-dress parties.

Gwen Stacy, Spider-Gwen, Ghost-Spider, Spider-Woman: who's who?

Four names circulate around Gwen, and they keep the confusion about her performers alive. They do not all refer to the same version of the character, and certainly not to the same performer. Before asking who played Gwen, you need to know which Gwen you are talking about.

In practice, when you search for 'who played Gwen Stacy', the answer depends on the medium. In live action, it is Bryce Dallas Howard and Emma Stone, two Gwens without powers. In animation, the masked Gwen is voiced in the original version by Hailee Steinfeld in the Spider-Verse films, where she comes from Earth-65, and by several actresses in the series, where she is sometimes the Gwen of Peter's own universe who gains powers. These are different versions of Gwen Stacy, from distinct universes. The comic-book event that opened up this multiverse is told in Spider-Verse, the event arc that redefined the web-slinger's universe.

Gwen's voices in the cartoons

In animation, Gwen has had many voices, often in her masked Ghost-Spider guise, the name given to her by the Marvel Rising franchise and by the comics. Here are the confirmed original voices.

Other appearances round out the list: in the Marvel Super Hero Adventures shorts, Ghost-Spider is voiced by Emily Tennant, and Laura Bailey voices her again in the Lego Marvel Spider-Man: Vexed by Venom special. Gwen is also announced for season 2 of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, due in January 2027 on Disney+, with her voice actress not yet revealed. The villains she faces alongside Spidey are introduced in the villains of Spidey and His Amazing Friends.

Gwen Stacy and Spider-Gwen in video games

Watch out for a common mix-up: Kari Wahlgren's Gwen belongs to the video games, not to Emma Stone's films, even though the 2012 game is based on the film. The web-slinger's video games are covered on our Spider-Man video games page.

The French voices of Gwen Stacy

In the French dub, Gwen changed voice with every saga, and even between two animated films. In Spider-Man 3, Bryce Dallas Howard is dubbed by Agathe Schumacher. In both The Amazing Spider-Man films, Emma Stone's French voice is Élisabeth Ventura. In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Gwen is voiced by the singer and actress Camélia Jordana, then, in Across the Spider-Verse (2023), it is the actress Shirine Boutella who dubs her. No French voice has yet been announced for Beyond the Spider-Verse.

The actors who dub Peter Parker are introduced in who dubs Spider-Man in French.

What you often read about Gwen Stacy, and what is wrong

So Gwen Stacy has had two live-action performers, Bryce Dallas Howard then Emma Stone, and one voice that brought her back to life in animated cinema, that of Hailee Steinfeld. To place Gwen among the others close to Peter, our page the complete universe of Spider-Man characters introduces everyone around her.

Key takeaways