Short answers, pulled from the story.
Elena made her first appearance in 1997 as a playable character in Street Fighter III: New Generation. She was the first playable Black woman in the Street Fighter series and appeared at a time when Black female characters were virtually nonexistent in the genre.
Elena uses Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, and music. Her animations were rotoscoped from David Lee Roth's music video for Just A Gigolo, and she fights solely with leg-based attacks.
Critics have pointed out that Elena's light skin, blue eyes, and straight hair reflect European standards of beauty rather than African ones. This has led to accusations of whitewashing, particularly in later appearances such as Street Fighter Duel where she was depicted with a lighter skin tone and styled in Japanese gyaru fashion.
Elena is the daughter of a Kenyan tribal leader and attends school abroad. She befriends a girl named Narumi and later invites her to visit her family, establishing her backstory around a desire to travel the world and make friends.
Elena was included in Street Fighter 6 as part of the Year 2 downloadable content with a revised design that portrays her as more mature. Her outfit now incorporates white pants with black stripes, a red sash around her neck, and white sandals with a red strap.