Katherine Elizabeth Bishop is a character portrayed by Hailee Steinfeld in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Bishop is depicted as a champion archer who grew up idolizing Avenger Clint Barton after he inadvertently saved her life during the Battle of New York.

Years later, she meets him and partners with him to uncover a criminal conspiracy and becomes his protégé. Bishop helps Barton confront those trying to take him down, such as the Tracksuit Mafia's boss, Maya Lopez, and the assassin Yelena Belova. Bishop discovers that her mother was secretly conspiring with Wilson Fisk. She is later recruited by Kamala Khan, who asked her to join her team of young superheroes.

Steinfeld first appeared as the character in the Disney+ miniseries Hawkeye (2021). She reprised the role for a cameo appearance in the film The Marvels (2023). She also voiced alternate versions of the character in the third season of the animated television series What If...? (2024) as well as Marvel Zombies (2025). Steinfeld's portrayal has been well received by fans and critics. Clara Stack plays a young version of the character in Hawkeye.

Concept and creation Kate Bishop was created by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung for Young Avengers #1 (April 2005), and becomes a founding member of the titular team using Clint Barton's arrows as a weapon. Because Barton had sacrificed himself in Avengers #502, Captain America gifted her the Hawkeye mantle. Prior to this, as a teenager, she was assaulted in Central Park which led her to take up intense combat training and self-defense to heal from the trauma she felt afterwards. In later appearances after Barton's revival, she developed a mentor-mentee relationship with him and was a main eponymous character in Matt Fraction and David Aja's series Hawkeye (2012), the "All-New Hawkeye" series by Jeff Lemire and Ramon Perez (2015), a solo 16-issue Hawkeye series written by Kelly Thompson from 2016 to 2018 and an upcoming 2021 five-part miniseries by Marieke Nijkamp and Enid Balám.

Ben Pearson of /Film found it that Bishop's comic interpretation made her out as being "a young, headstrong woman, out to make a name for herself and refusing to take shit from anyone", and Renner relented that Bishop was "a better version of me and the sentiment of that is the fiber of what Hawkeye is, adding that he was delighted to shepherd an "amazing character" onscreen. He believed that Bishop's involvement in Hawkeye shows how Barton is "a superhero without superpowers and [how he gets to] teach someone else to be a superhero without super powers" in Bishop. Paul Tassi of Forbes stated that Marvel was "betting big" on Bishop's involvement in the MCU with her being a "force for them, perhaps bigger than [Renner's Barton] Hawkeye himself ever was."

Casting

In April 2019, early reports were released indicating plans for a Disney+ Hawkeye property featuring Barton "passing the torch" to Bishop, which was later officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con in the following July. By early September 2019, Hailee Steinfeld had been offered the role of Kate Bishop, but had not yet signed on for the series a month later. Variety reported one reason for this was a non-compete clause in her contract with Apple TV+ for starring in the series Dickinson, something Variety felt Steinfeld would be able to negotiate out of. No other actresses had been approached for the role of Bishop. When asked about her starring in the series shortly after, Steinfeld said it was "not something that's necessarily happening", and was confirmed as Bishop by December 2020 in part due to scheduling issues with Dickinson season 3 being freed up due to the COVID-19 pandemic; this also allowed Steinfeld to better keep the secret until her official casting was revealed. Finn Jones, who played Danny Rand / Iron Fist in prior Marvel Television properties and co-starred alongside Steinfeld in season 2 of Dickinson encouraged her to take the role, believing that she should "'do it, definitely. Be a part of the Marvel world. It's such a wonderful thing to say that you've been a part of'...I was like 'do it, and you won't regret it.'" Jones furthered support for Steinfeld playing the role by saying "It's wonderful to see that she's now in that world...she deserves it. She's such an amazing performer – and a great contribution to the Marvel Universe." Hawkeye showrunner Jonathan Igla called her casting "absolutely perfect".

Renner took it upon himself to teach Steinfeld the avenues of a big-budget Marvel production and how the world of superheroes translates into real-life set pieces, feeling it was his role to introduce her to the MCU. "Outside of acting in the thing, I was protecting her and giving her the CliffsNotes on how it goes with this kind of filmmaking," Renner stated, adding that he "just wanted to protect her, because there's a lot of physical stuff" involved. He lauded Marvel's decision to cast her as Bishop, remarking that "she's a wonderful actress, a wonderful human...[there's a lot of] cool stuff that she's able to do." Steinfeld was already a fan of Bishop and the comics, but found that in her research for the show she was able to continually "[discover] these elements of Kate Bishop that are in [the comics] that we're bringing to life in the show, and other elements of the comics." She was also appreciative of the way the character's role tied into and helped flesh out the MCU at large.

Steinfeld did not audition for the role, with Kevin Feige stating: "We were very, very lucky that Hailee was open to this because we very much believed that she was sort of the prototype for the character, and as occasionally happens, the dream version of the character agrees to do it."

Clara Stack plays a young version of the character in Hawkeye.

Steinfeld reprised her role for a cameo appearance in the film The Marvels (2023) and voiced alternate versions of the character in the third season of the animated series What If...? (2024) and in Marvel Zombies (2025).

Characterization Traits and athleticism Steinfeld described Bishop as a "smart and witty badass" with physical abilities that are "through the roof". To prepare herself for Bishop's athletic prowess, she was trained in basic archery sessions. When she is introduced into the show, Bishop is a 22-year-old fangirl of Barton's who has a "wonderfully annoying and equally charming manner about her." The relationship between her and Barton was described as chaotic from the "onslaught of problems" she brings into his life initially, but also a growing mutual respect for one another as she formally becomes Barton's protégée. She first draws Barton's attention when she is pictured on television disguised as Ronin, Barton's previous mercenary alter ego. Steinfeld said that Bishop was "very human...rooted in human strength and strength of mind. She's self-taught, very disciplined, and very determined." She likened the character to Emily Dickinson, who she had been portraying right before filming Hawkeye, in that Bishop is also a "strong and determined and independent and driven female character" so the move from one character to another felt smooth. She would later call Bishop "a character that I would have loved to have had growing up — somebody who is completely ambitious, driven and disciplined, and takes it upon herself to do whatever it is she has to do to achieve her goals."

Steinfeld's casting in the series and training led her to develop a passion for archery, much like the character she portrays. Of this, she said: "As far as a bow and arrow goes...it's something that I genuinely, really enjoy. Not something I've ever picked up, a bow, before this project...[but] it's truly therapeutic and just really amazing. Not something I'd ever see myself doing. But here I am! And I absolutely love it." In reaction to set photos of the film, Taylor Walston of Archery 360 commented that "Steinfeld's form is solid. Her fingers on the bowstring are nice and relaxed, and she is loosely holding the grip between her thumb and first finger, with her other fingers relaxed, in an early demonstration of proper form."

Relationship with Barton Renner likened her and Barton's dynamic to a father-daughter relationship, particularly between Barton and his own daughter Lila Barton. Steinfeld added that "It was very fun to implement the banter [between Barton and Bishop]...that was something Jeremy and I found very quickly...there are these tragic events taking place and there's still this witty, quick banter that they seem to find." In changing Bishop's backstory and events surrounding her initial meeting with Barton, Steinfeld said that " [This version of] Kate, as a young woman growing up in New York City, can walk down the street and own herself and her strength. She can take anybody on, and [we wanted that to be] because she decided for herself that that was something she wanted to be able to do." Detailing their unique dynamic, Igla added that "I'm always interested in contrasts, and Kate and Clint are a real study in contrasts...they're opposites. Kate aspires to be a superhero, as opposed to Clint who is a superhero and doesn't want to be one. And I felt like if somebody was going to come along and teach an aspiring superhero about what it means to be a superhero, about the reality of it, it should be somebody who has a much more ambivalent relationship to it." Touching on the choice to include the show's opening sequence where Bishop watches Barton during the Battle of New York, Igla stated: "I wanted to pair the death of Kate's father with her seeing Hawkeye. Because the trauma of losing a parent, and also an alien invasion right outside your window...[is a] traumatizing event. Seeing [Barton] who is not out of control in that moment, but seems completely in control...[for] Kate, somebody who doesn't have superpowers, that felt like the type of thing that would make a lifelong lasting mark on a child."

Hawkeye executive producer Trinh Tran said Barton was Bishop's "North Star", adding that "from a young age, Kate [has had a] love for her idol, Hawkeye." Her motivation to become a hero was due to seeing how Barton could be "a hero and a mere human doing superhuman things, but above everything else, he always stands up for the little guy and protects those in need" which led her to "put herself through intense training, studying various sports, including archery and martial arts." Of their back-and-forth relationship, TVLine called it full of "action and punchy tête-à-têtes" with extra notice of its similarity to the Aja and Fraction Hawkeye run that partially inspired the show.

Relationship with Eleanor