The Most Notorious Female Assassins In History Shutterstock By Mina Nakatani/Feb. 22, 2021 1:37 pm EDT/Updated: March 11, 2021 12:16 am EDT Female assassins have been making it into the movies and onto the television screen a decent bit — and to a pretty positive reception. Black Widow of Marvel fame and Killing Eve's Villanelle are just to name a couple that have really hit popularity of late. But ladies capable of a murder or two aren't only relegated to fiction. Far from it. Honestly, the reality is a lot more interesting and varied. Female assassins have made it into the history books before, and they each have their own tales to tell, wielding guns, blades, or sometimes poisons against impressively high-profile targets. A lot of the time, those tales are wrapped up in tragedy, but occasionally there's a bit of triumph. Sometimes, the stories are straightforward, but other times, there's a definite air of mystery. In short, there's a lot that happened in the past, and it's fascinating.