Nancy Wheeler is a fictional character from the Netflix television show Stranger Things, portrayed by American actress Natalia Dyer.
She teams up with her future boyfriend Jonathan Byers to investigate Will and Barbara's disappearance, which leads to her discovery of the Upside Down, an alternate dimension.
Unconcerned with Will's disappearance due to believing he must simply be lost, Nancy disobeys her curfew and convinces Barb to join her at a party at Steve's house.
After explaining their theory about the monster to the adults, Nancy helps Hopper get in touch with Mike and his friends, and later they gather at Hawkins Middle School to build a makeshift sensory deprivation tank for Eleven to use in an effort to find Will and Barb.
Though Nancy and Jonathan seemingly convince a frightened Steve to leave, he re-enters the house when the Demogorgon comes back and helps them injure it.
Nancy, still overcome with grief over Barb's death, gets drunk at a party and begins verbally berating Steve when he tries to cut her off from drinking more.
When Nancy returns to the house, she discovers that Mrs. Driscoll has been infected by the newly resurrected Mind Flayer, eating fertilizer and screaming that she "has to go back".
Still undeterred and despite an argument with Jonathan, Nancy continues pursuing the story, noticing that Mrs. Driscoll's symptoms are similar to those of Will when he was possessed.
The Mind Flayer arrives at the mall; Nancy, Jonathan, Will, Lucas, Steve, and Robin fend off the monster with fireworks, while Billy attempts to infect Eleven.
While closing the Soviet gate, Hopper is seemingly killed, leading Joyce to take in Eleven and move her family away from Hawkins.
In the spring of 1986, Nancy is preparing for college and works for the school newspaper alongside her classmate Fred Benson, while Jonathan lives in California with Joyce, Will and Eleven.
After cheerleader Chrissy Cunningham is found brutally murdered inside the trailer of student Eddie Munson, Nancy and Fred go to the trailer park to investigate; Nancy interviews Eddie's uncle, who blames Chrissy's murder on Victor Creel, a man who was placed in a psychiatric institution after allegedly killing his family in the 1950s.
While talking to the police about Fred, Nancy sees Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Max arrive on the scene, and realizes the Upside Down is once again involved.
Nancy and Robin pose as psychology students in order to interview Creel at the Pennhurst asylum; he maintains that his family was killed by a demon, who they believe to be Vecna.
Max draws what she experienced under possession, and Nancy recognizes that Vecna's lair is composed of detached fragments of the Creel residence, leading the group to investigate the now-abandoned house.
As Robin and Eddie escape the Upside Down, Nancy is possessed by Vecna, who, by showing glimpses of his past, reveals himself to be Henry Creel, Victor's son who killed his mother and sister using telepathic powers.
They find Vecna inside the Creel house and set him ablaze using Molotov cocktails, while Nancy shoots him with a sawed-off shotgun, sending him through the window.
Despite their efforts, Vecna manages to possess Max and successfully converges the four gates he has opened in Hawkins, causing mass destruction.
Nancy's characterization has been positively received by critics, with particular praise awarded for how her character deviates from the stereotypical portrayal of teenage older sisters and young women in the horror genre.