A scientist caught in the middle
Betty is a cell biologist who worked alongside Bruce Banner before the accident that turned him into the Hulk. When we meet her in The Incredible Hulk, Bruce has been on the run for years and she has tried to move on. She has a new life and a new partner, and then Bruce comes back.
She is the only person in the film who is not afraid of the Hulk. Soldiers shoot at him and her father hunts him, yet Betty walks right up to the creature and talks to him. That quiet courage is what defines her, along with a stubborn refusal to accept that the people she loves are beyond saving.
Betty Ross watch order
- The Incredible Hulk (2008, film, optional)
- Captain America: Brave New World (2025, film, recommended)
Between the two films there is a gap of many years, both in real life and in the story. Betty does not appear in any Avengers movie or Disney Plus series on our list.
Her turning points
In The Incredible Hulk, Betty helps Bruce chase a possible cure, hiding him from her own father and trusting him in ways that put her in danger. The film's most tender moments belong to the two of them, including a scene where Bruce has to stay calm in a situation that would test anyone.
Brave New World picks up her family's story much later. Thaddeus Ross now holds the highest office in the country, and he is trying, awkwardly, to mend his relationship with his daughter. Betty's presence is brief but meaningful, and the film relies on that history between father and daughter. We will stop there to avoid spoilers.
Father and daughter
The relationship that matters most in her MCU story is with Thaddeus Ross. In the first film he is a general who sees Bruce as a weapon, and his obsession with capturing him pushes Betty away. Brave New World treats that rift as unfinished business. Harrison Ford plays Ross in the newer film, taking over from William Hurt, who played him in the earlier titles. Bruce Banner is the other half of the triangle, although Mark Ruffalo's Banner never shares the screen with her.
Liv Tyler as Betty
Liv Tyler plays Betty in both films. She gives the character a soft-spoken warmth that makes it believable that she could calm the Hulk, and her return in Brave New World was a pleasant surprise for long-time fans.
Tyler is best known as Arwen in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and for the disaster blockbuster Armageddon. On television she starred in the drama The Leftovers.
Best way to watch her story
Watch The Incredible Hulk first. It is optional for the wider MCU, but it is the only place to see Betty and Bruce together, and it explains the grudge between Ross and the Hulk. Then you can jump ahead to Brave New World. To get more from that sequel, watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier before it, since that series sets up Sam Wilson as Captain America. More characters from both films are listed in our character guide.