The play is similar to Don Juan Manuel's 14th-century Castilian tale of the "young man who married a very strong and fiery woman".

The pair are married and at the wedding feast, Petruchio suggests a contest between himself, Lucentio, and Hortensio: They each send for their wives, and whoever's wife responds the most obediently wins.

When she is forcefully brought to Lucentio by Kate, Bianca insists that her husband was a fool to set store by her obedience.

In the musical adaptation Kiss Me, Kate, The Taming of the Shrew is a play-within-the-play, and Bianca is played by an actress called Lois Lane.

[3] In the ABC Family television series 10 Things I Hate About You, Bianca is played by Meaghan Jette Martin.