Black widow may refer to:

Spiders

* Black widow spider, a common name for some species of spiders in the genus ''

Latrodectus ''Latrodectus'' is a broadly distributed genus of spiders with several species that are commonly known as the true widows. This group is composed of those often loosely called black widow spiders, brown widow spiders, and similar spiders. However ...

American species

* ''

Latrodectus apicalis ''Latrodectus apicalis'', known as the Galapagos black widow, is endemic to the Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of ...

'', the Galapagos black widow * ''

Latrodectus curacaviensis ''Latrodectus curacaviensis'' is a species of black widow spider, that belongs to the genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, li ...

'', the South American black widow * ''

Latrodectus hesperus ''Latrodectus hesperus'', the western black widow spider or western widow, is a venomous spider species found in western regions of North America. The female's body is 14–16 mm (1/2 in) in length and is black, often with an hourglass-shape ...

'', the western black widow * ''

Latrodectus mactans ''Latrodectus mactans'', known as southern black widow or simply black widow, and the shoe-button spider, is a venomous species of spider in the genus ''Latrodectus''. The females are well known for their distinctive black and red coloring and f ...

'', the southern black widow * ''

Latrodectus variolus ''Latrodectus variolus'', the northern black widow spider or northern widow, is a venomous species of spider in the genus '' Latrodectus'' of the family Theridiidae. The population is closely related to the southern black widow, '' Latrodectus m ...

'', the northern black widow

Eurasian species

* ''

Latrodectus tredecimguttatus ''Latrodectus tredecimguttatus'', also known as the Mediterranean black widow or the European black widow, is a species in the genus ''Latrodectus'' of the widow spiders. It is commonly found throughout the Mediterranean region and central As ...

'', the Mediterranean black widow or European black widow

Oceanian species

* '' Latrodectus hasseltii'', the redback spider or Australian black widow

People

Murderers

Black Widows of Liverpool Catherine Flannagan (1829 – 3 March 1884) and Margaret Higgins (1843 – 3 March 1884) were Irish sisters who were convicted of poisoning and murdering one person in Liverpool, England, and suspected of four more deaths. The women collected ...

, two women hanged for murder in 1884 *

Belle Gunness Belle Gunness (born Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth; November 11, 1859 – possibly April 28, 1908), nicknamed Hell's Belle, was a Norwegian-American serial killer who was active in Illinois and Indiana between 1884 and 1908. Gunness is thought t ...

, 25–40 victims spanning from 1884 to 1908 * Vera Renczi (1903–1960), murdered 35 men, including her husband and her son * Betty Neumar (1931–2011), dubbed "Black Widow" or "Black Widow Granny", accused of murdering one of her husbands *

Blanche Taylor Moore Blanche Taylor Moore (née Kiser; born February 17, 1933) is an American convicted murderer and a possible serial killer from Alamance County, North Carolina. She is awaiting execution in North Carolina for the fatal poisoning of her boyfriend in ...

(born 1933), convicted murderer *

Griselda Blanco Griselda Blanco Restrepo (February 15, 1943 – September 3, 2012) was a Colombian drug lord who was prominent in the cocaine-based drug trade and underworld of Miami, during the 1970s through the early 2000s, and who has also been claimed ...

(1943–2012), Colombian drug trafficker, known for ordering or committing the murders of three ex-husbands *

Catherine Nevin Catherine Nevin (; 1 October 1950 – 19 February 2018) was an Irish woman who was convicted of arranging to have her husband Tom Nevin murdered in a suspected contract killing at Jack White's Inn, a pub owned by the couple in County Wicklow, ...

(1950–2018), responsible for the 1996 murder of her husband in the pub they owned *

Stacey Castor Stacey Ruth Castor (née Daniels, formerly Wallace; July 24, 1967 – June 11, 2016) was an American convicted murderer from Weedsport, New York. In 2009, she was found guilty of murdering her then-husband David Castor with antifreeze in 2005 an ...

(1967–2016), convicted murderer *

Lynn Turner (murderer) Julia Lynn Turner (née Womack; July 13, 1968 – August 30, 2010) was an American woman who was convicted in the poisoning deaths of her two husbands. Turner's first husband, Glenn Turner, died after allegedly being sick with the flu in 1995 ...

(1968–2010), convicted murderer *

Black Widow Murders The Black Widow Murders were a colloquial name for a pair of murders committed by two pensioners in California, United States: on April 18, 2008, Helen Golay, 78, formerly of Santa Monica, California, and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, formerly of ...

, murders committed in 1999 / 2005 by two elderly women in Los Angeles * Áurea Vázquez-Rijos, Puerto Rican women who hired a hitman to murder her ex-husband Adam Anhang in 2005 and was convicted in 2018 * Melissa Ann Shepard (born 1935), Canadian murderer *

Patrizia Reggiani Patrizia Reggiani (; Martinelli; born 2 December 1948) is an Italian convicted criminal and former socialite. She was convicted in a highly publicized trial of hiring a hitman to kill her ex-husband, Maurizio Gucci. Early life and marriage t ...

(born 1948), ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci, convicted of arranging his murder *

Chisako Kakehi was a Japanese serial killer who was sentenced to death for the murders of three men, including her husband, and for the attempted murder of a fourth.Lyda Southard Lyda Southard (October 16, 1892 – February 5, 1958), also known as Lyda Anna Mae Trueblood, was an American female suspected serial killer. It was suspected that she had killed four of her husbands, a brother-in-law, and her daughter by using a ...

(1892–1958), American serial killer of husbands and other family members using arsenic from flypaper *

Esneda Ruiz Cataño Esneda Ruiz Cataño (born 1968), known as The Predator and The Black Widow, is a Colombian serial killer.

(born 1968), Colombian serial killer of husbands for life insurance benefits from 2001-2010; is currently in El Pedregal Prison

Athletes

Jeanette Lee Jeanette Lee (born Lee Jin-Hee, , July 9, 1971) is an American professional pool player. She was nicknamed the Black Widow because, in spite of her sweet demeanor, she would "eat people alive" when she got to a pool table and always wear blac ...

(pool player) (born 1971), so-called because of her fondness for wearing black *

Sonya Thomas Sonya Thomas (born Lee Sun-kyung on July 26, 1967), also known by her nickname The Black Widow, and "The Leader of the Four Horsemen of the Esophagus", is a South Korean-born American competitive eater from Alexandria, Virginia. Thomas joined ...

(born 1967), top-ranked competitive eater

Other

Florentine Rost van Tonningen Florentine Sophie Rost van Tonningen (née Heubel; 14 November 1914 – 24 March 2007) was the wife of Meinoud Rost van Tonningen, Meinoud Marinus Rost von Tonningen, the second leader of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB) ...

(1914–2007), Dutch neo-Nazi nicknamed ''Zwarte weduwe'' (Black Widow)

Arts and entertainment

Fictional characters

Black Widow (Marvel Comics) Black Widow is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Most of these versions exist in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe. Claire Voyant Claire Voyant is th ...

, the name of several distinct characters: **

Black Widow (Claire Voyant) Black Widow (Claire Voyant) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer George Kapitan and artist Harry Sahle, the character first appeared in ''Mystic Comics'' #4 (August 1940), published by M ...

Black Widow (Natasha Romanova) Black Widow is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by editor Stan Lee, scripter Don Rico, and artist Don Heck, the character debuted as an enemy of Iron Man in ''Tales of Suspense'' #52 (1964). ...

Yelena Belova Yelena Belova () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Devin Grayson and artist J. G. Jones, the character appeared as a sketch in ''Marvel Knights: Wave 2 Sketchbook'' #1 (Janu ...

* In the , the

Red Room (Marvel Cinematic Universe) The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise features many fictional elements, including locations, weapons, and artifacts. Many are based on elements that originally appeared in the American comic books published by Marvel Comics, w ...

is a program having trained several distinct Black Widows (Marvel Cinematic Universe): **

Natasha Romanoff (Marvel Cinematic Universe) Natalia Alianovna Romanova, more commonly known as Natasha Romanoff, is a fictional character primarily portrayed by Scarlett Johansson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise based on the Marvel Comics character of the same nam ...

Yelena Belova (Marvel Cinematic Universe) Yelena Belova is a fictional character portrayed by Florence Pugh in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise based on the Marvel Comics Yelena Belova, character of the same name. She is depicted as the adopted sister of Natasha Roman ...

Melina Vostokoff (Marvel Cinematic Universe) Melina may refer to: *Melina (given name), including a list of people with the name *"Melina", a No.1 hit song by Camilo Sesto 1975 *"Melina", a song by Tapani Kansa * Melina, Dobretići, a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina * An alternative spellin ...

Ruth Bat-Seraph (Marvel Cinematic Universe) Sabra is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema, the character first appeared in ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk'' #250 (1980), bef ...

* The Black Widow, a ''Batman'' villain played by

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lifeboat (194 ...

* Black Widow, a character from the ''

Saturday Night Slam Masters ''Saturday Night Slam Masters'', known in Japan as is a 1993 pro wrestling fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. The game features character designs by manga artist Tetsuo Hara, famous for ''Fist of the North Star''. Th ...

'' series of games by Capcom * Natasha Kerensky, in '' Tales of the Black Widow Company'', a supplement for the ''BattleTech'' video game

Film and television

* ''The Black Widow'' (serial), a 1947 movie serial starring Bruce Edwards * ''Black Widow'' (1951 film), a British film starring Christine Norden * ''Black Widow'' (1954 film), starring Ginger Rogers and Gene Tierney * ''Black Widow'' (1987 film), featuring Debra Winger and Theresa Russell * ''Black Widow'' (2003 film), a film directed by Brad Turner * ''The Black Widow'' (2005 film), DVD release title of film by Giada Colagrande, produced as ''Before It Had a Name'' * ''Black Widow'' (2005 film), a Canadian film starring Sarah Slean * ''Black Widow'' (2007 film), with Elizabeth Berkley and Alicia Coppola * ''Black Widow'' (2010 film), starring Jack Scalia and Jennifer O'Dell * ''Black Widow'' (2021 film), a film starring Scarlett Johansson based on the Marvel Comics character * '' Black Widow: A Land Bleeds'', a 2017 Indian film * ''Black Widows'' (2016 TV series), Scandinavian TV serial * ''Black Widows'' (Indian TV series), a 2020 web series * "The Black Widow", an episode of ''Boston Legal'' * "Black Widow" (''Marvel Studios: Legends''), an episode of ''Marvel Studios: Legends''

Literature

*the Black Widow, a car driven by the

Spider (DC Comics) "Alias the Spider" is a superhero feature from the Golden Age of Comic Books that appeared in Quality Comics' '' Crack Comics'' for nearly three years, starting with issue #1 in 1940. He was created by writer-artist Paul Gustavson. The original G ...

* ''The Black Widow'' (Silva novel), 2016 novel by Daniel Silva *''Black Widow: A Novel'', a 1981 novel by

Christina Crawford Christina Crawford (born June 11, 1939) is an American former author and actress, best known for her 1978 memoir and exposé, '' Mommie Dearest'', which described the alleged abuse she was subjected to by her adoptive mother, film star Joan C ...

Gaming

* ''Black Widow'' (video game), a 1982 Atari arcade game * Black Widow Games, a computer games developer

Music

* ''Black Widow'' (opera), by Thomas Pasatieri *

Black Widow (band) Black Widow were an English rock band that formed in Leicester in September 1969. They were mostly known for their early use of Satanic and occult imagery in their music and stage act. History The band originally formed in 1966 as Pesky Ge ...

, a British rock band * ''Black Widow'' (Black Widow album), 1971 * ''Black Widow'' (Lalo Schifrin album), 1976 * ''Black Widow'' (In This Moment album), 2014 * ''The Black Widow'' (album) * Black Widow Records, an Italian label

Songs

* "Black Widow" (Iggy Azalea song), 2014 * "Black Widow" (Pristin song), 2017 * "Black Widow", by Black Tide on the album ''

Light from Above ''Light from Above'' is the debut album by American heavy metal band Black Tide. It was released on March 18, 2008, and was produced by Johnny K. Each member of Black Tide was under 20 years of age during the recording of this album, making it ...

'' * "Black Widow", by Mötley Crüe on the compilation '' Red, White & Crüe'' * "Black Widow", by Children of Bodom on the album ''

Hatebreeder ''Hatebreeder'' is the second studio album by Finnish melodic death metal band Children of Bodom. The deluxe edition was released in 2005 with bonus material. It was also re-released in 2008. Reception In 2005, ''Hatebreeder'' was ranked n ...

'' * "Black Widow", by U.D.O. on the album ''

Animal House ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller (writer), Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Tom ...

'' * "Black Widow", by Dolores O'Riordan on the album '' Are You Listening?'' * "Black Widow", by Donovan Leitch on the album ''

Slow Down World ''Slow Down World'' is the thirteenth studio album (fifteenth overall) by Scottish singer/songwriter Donovan, released in the United States (Epic PE 33945) in May 1976 and the United Kingdom (Epic SEPC 86011) on 4 June 1976. Background Over his ...

'' * "Black Widow", by In This Moment on the album '' Black Widow'' * "Black Widow", by Lita Ford on the album '' Dangerous Curves'' * "Black Widow", by Michelle Shocked on the album ''

Short Sharp Shocked ''Short Sharp Shocked'' is the second album by Michelle Shocked. Originally released in 1988, it was remastered and reissued in 2003 as a two-CD set by Shocked's own label, Mighty Sound. The title is a play on the phrase short, sharp shock. The r ...

'' * "Black Widow", by Alice Cooper on the album ''

Welcome to My Nightmare ''Welcome to My Nightmare'' is the debut solo and overall eighth studio album by American rock musician Alice Cooper, released on March 11, 1975 by Atlantic Records. A concept album, its songs played in sequence form a journey through the nightm ...

'' * "Black Widow", by Jefferson Starship on the album ''Winds of Change'' * "Black Widow", by

Booty Luv Booty Luv are an English dance music group formed in June 2006 in London by their record label, Hed Kandi. The group comprises two R&B vocalists, Cherise Roberts and Nadia Shepherd, both of whom were in the original line-up of the hip hop a ...

* "Black Widow", by

Link Wray Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. His 1958 Instrumental rock, instrumental single "Rumble (instrumental), Rumble", reached the ...

and His Ray Men, B-side to "Jack the Ripper" * "Black Widow", by Cage the Elephant on the album ''

Melophobia ''Melophobia'' is the third studio album by American rock band Cage the Elephant. Recorded at St. Charles in Nashville, Tennessee and produced by Jay Joyce, the album was released on October 8, 2013, through RCA Records. It is also the final albu ...

'' * "Black Widow", by Susanne Sundfør on the album '' The Brothel'' * "Black Widow Pt. 2", by RZA featuring ODB on the album '' Digital Bullet'' * "Black Widows", by Grave Digger on the album ''The Last Supper''

Rides

* Black Widow (ride), an amusement ride at Kennywood * Black Widow, a roller coaster at

Six Flags New England Six Flags New England, formerly known as Gallup's Grove (1870–1886), Riverside Grove (1887–1911), Riverside Park (1912–1995) and Riverside: The Great Escape (1996–1999), is an amusement park located in Agawam, Massachusetts. Opening in ...

Military

Northrop P-61 Black Widow The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed specifically as a night fighter. Named for the North American spider '' Latrodec ...

, a World War II night fighter * Black Widow II, a

Northrop YF-23 The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 is an American single-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, Stealth aircraft, stealth fighter aircraft, fighter technology demonstrator prototype designed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The design team, wit ...

prototype fighter aircraft, nicknamed after the P-61 *

PMN mine The PMN () series of blast anti-personnel mines were designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union. They are one of the most widely used and commonly found devices during demining operations. They are sometimes nicknamed "black widow" because of ...

, nicknamed Black Widow because of their dark casing *

Soviet submarine B-39 ''B-39'' was a Project 641 () diesel-electric attack submarine of the Soviet Navy. The "B" (actually " Б") in her designation stands for большая (''bolshaya'', "large")—Foxtrots were the Soviet Navy's largest non-nuclear submarines. ' ...

, nicknamed Black Widow after having been sold off as a museum ship *

421st Fighter Squadron The 421st Fighter Squadron is part of the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. It operates the Lockheed Martin F-35A aircraft conducting air superiority missions. The squadron is one of the most decorated fighter squadrons in the U ...

, nicknamed Black Widows

Other plants and animals

Black tetra The black tetra (''Gymnocorymbus ternetzi''), also known as the black skirt tetra, petticoat tetra, high-fin black skirt tetra, black skirt tetra, black widow tetra and blackamoor, is a freshwater fish of the characin family (Characidae). It i ...

, also known as "black widow tetra", a freshwater fish * '' Stygnobrotula latebricola'', an ocean fish * '' Geranium phaeum'', a herbaceous plant species

Other uses

* The Black Widow Pulsar * Black Widow (paint mix), paint mix for projection screen * Black Widow (Chechnya), term for female suicide bombers from Chechnya or Dagestan * DHD(J), also called Black Widow, a subgroup of the militant Dimasa organization

Dima Halam Daogah Dima Halam Daogah was an Indian extremist group operating mainly in the northeastern Assam and Nagaland states. The group laid down their arms in January 2013, and claimed to represent the Dimasa and their goal to create a Dimaland or ''Dimaraji' ...

of Assam, India