Atypically for romantic heroines of the sixteenth century, she is feisty and sharp-witted; these characteristics have led some scholars to label Beatrice a protofeminist character.

Beatrice has been portrayed by many actors including Frances Abington, Ellen Terry, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tamsin Greig, Emma Thompson, Catherine Tate, Danielle Brooks, and Amy Acker.

Mary Augusta Scott first suggested in 1901 that Beatrice is modelled on Baldassare Castiglione's Emilia Pia from The Book of the Courtier.

[2] Walter N. King described Beatrice as representing the Petrarchan archetype of "the disdainful woman of courtly love", suggesting that she was perhaps inspired by Petrarch.

[4][5] Some critics see Rosalind and Berowne (Love's Labour's Lost) and Katherina and Petruchio (The Taming of the Shrew) as Shakespeare's precursors to the witty pairing of Beatrice and Benedick.

At the outset of the play, Leonato welcomes a group of soldiers to his home including Benedick, with whom Beatrice has a "merry war".

After some pretending, Beatrice and Benedick are compelled to admit to their true feelings when love letters they have written are revealed by Hero and Claudio.

In this interpretation, Beatrice's marriage at the end of the play represents her ultimately losing her power in order to become a wife.

[20] William Babula argues that by demanding that Benedick kill Claudio, Beatrice refuses to be categorized and avoids the simplicity of a label such as "shrew".

[24] One of the reoccurring questions asked by generations of performers and directors is whether Beatrice and Benedick actually have feelings for each other or are merely tricked into an illusion of love.

[2] C. T. Prouty argues that Beatrice and Benedick are a pair of true lovers and are thereby the antithesis of Claudio and Hero's "mariage de convenance".

Because of the change of setting from Messina under Spanish rule to Meji-era Japan, Beatrice's line "Kill Claudio"[11] made contextual sense due to the Japanese kinship system and principle of bushido (honour).

According to one review, the bustle of the farcical tone of the majority of the play drowned out the tension and emotion of the church scene featuring Beatrice's line "Kill Claudio".

[11][31] Christiane von Poelnitz played Beatrice in Viel Lärm um Nichts (German for Much Ado About Nothing) at the Burgtheater in Vienna in 2006.

[38] In the late nineteenth century, Ellen Terry performed the role of Beatrice opposite Henry Irving's Benedick at the Lyceum.

[45] At the Royal Shakespeare Company, Beatrice has been played by Googie Withers (1958),[46] Judi Dench (1976),[47] Maggie Steed (1988),[48] Harriet Walter (2002),[49] and Tamsin Greig (2006).

The same year, Beatrice was played by Catherine Tate opposite David Tennant's Benedick as directed by Josie Rourke.

[70] Kate Eastwood Norris played Beatrice in a 2005 production of Much Ado About Nothing set immediately after World War II.

[71] In 2019, Rose Napoli played Beatrice in Liza Balkan's production with Shakespeare in High Park in Toronto.

[78] In 2019, Danielle Brooks played Beatrice in a production of Much Ado About Nothing featuring an all-black cast at Shakespeare in the Park in New York City.

[82] In the 1964 German language adaptation, Viel Lärm um nichts, Beatrice was played by Christel Bodenstein.

[85] In Joss Whedon's 2012 film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice was played by American actress Amy Acker.

[86] Sydney Sweeney played Bea—a character based on Beatrice— in Will Gluck's 2023 romantic comedy film Anyone But You, whose plot progression was largely derivative of Much Ado About Nothing.

[44] In 2005, Sarah Parish played a modernized Beatrice as part of the ShakespeaRe-Told series of televised Shakespeare adaptations.