Obsessed with The Last of Us on HBO? So are we! The highly anticipated adaptation of the best-selling video game of the same name premiered earlier this month and is already a huge hit. Not only are the viewership numbers impressive, but the reviews are also near-perfect. The general consensus seems to be that this is the best video game adaptation to date and should serve as the gold standard for those to come.
Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Catherine Called Birdy) star opposite one another as Joel and Ellie. So far their chemistry has been awesome and I think I speak for many viewers when I say the casting is perfect. If you’re already familiar with Pascal from his previous works but want to know more about Ramsey, you’re in the right place!
Here’s everything to know about the rising star.
Bella Ramsey’s age and height
Ramsey was born on September 30, 2003, making her 19 years old at the time of this writing. She grew up in England and began acting as a hobby at the age of four. If you’ve noticed while watching The Last of Us that the actor is significantly shorter than her co-star Pedro Pascal, that’s because she is! According to her IMDb page, she stands at 5’1. Pascal is 10 inches taller than her at 5’11.
Bella Ramsey played Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones
If you’re a big fan of Game of Thrones, you probably first heard of Ramsey when she portrayed Lyanna Mormont in the HBO series. First introduced in season 6, Lyanna became a fan-favorite, and Ramsey’s portrayal convinced showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss that she should be a bigger character than they’d initially planned. Lyanna had an epic death scene in the final season during the Battle of Winterfell.
Ramsey told Left Lion how it felt to learn she had been chosen for the role on Game of Thrones, celebrating with her mom but also having to keep it under wraps. “I had to keep it quiet for about a year from when I found out to when it came out,” she said. “It was really hard.”
Bella Ramsey is also a talented singer
Not only is Ramsey a talented actor, but she can sing and play guitar, too! The Last of Us star has recorded songs for two of her projects, including “The Life of Hilda” for the Netflix animated series Hilda, and “Birdy Song” for the 2022 period comedy Catherine Called Birdy directed by Lena Dunham. She’s uploaded videos of herself performing to her Instagram page, and you can find other clips floating around YouTube, like this one below:
Bella Ramsey is gender fluid but doesn’t care about pronouns
While promoting The Last of Us with The New York Times earlier this month, Ramsey opened up on being mistaken for a boy as a child, something she loved. “I guess my gender has always been very fluid,” she explained. “Someone would call me ‘she’ or ‘her’ and I wouldn’t think about it, but I knew that if someone called me ‘he’ it was a bit exciting.”
Ramsey says she would consider herself nonbinary if she saw the option available on a form, but when it comes to pronouns, she doesn’t have a preference: “Being gendered isn’t something that I particularly like, but in terms of pronouns, I really couldn’t care less.”
Bella Ramsey has almost 1 million followers on Instagram
Though Ramsey has had fans for a few years now, I think The Last of Us might just turn her into a household name, depending on how long it goes on for. Currently, the 19-year-old actor has 943,000 followers on Instagram, a number I’m sure will only go up as the HBO series continues.
Check out Ramsey’s page and give her a follow here. It doesn’t look like she’s active on TikTok, but she’s got a Twitter which you can see here.
Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal are super close
Ramsey and Pascal have talked about how appearing in Game of Thrones brought them closer together, even though they were never on set at the same time. Once they started filming, they only became better friends, something Pascal even thought might annoy the cast and crew.
“There was so much time we got to spend together on set that it was almost weird when we weren’t together, as far as shooting was concerned,” Pascal recalled. “There was this fascinating thing that would happen. We were just kind of in our own bubble no matter what. That almost became a little frustrating for our directors. The bond could never intentionally leave anybody out, but what became less hard was stepping into each other’s presence and being together.”
During an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ramsey joked she was “unhealthily attached” to her co-star. Based on the online discourse, there’s no doubt how much viewers love their relationship.
Bella Ramsey has opened up about anorexia nervosa
The Becoming Elizabeth actor is a vocal advocate for mental health and has opened up to her fans about some of the struggles she’s faced. In 2018 she took to Twitter to share her experience with anorexia nervosa, a disorder she was diagnosed with about a year prior. She spoke about going to counseling and reminded her followers that “there’s always a way out.” Ramsey also noted that her religious faith has helped her in her lowest days.
Part 1.
— Bella Ramsey (@BellaRamsey) October 10, 2018
So...it’s world mental health day. I’ve been wondering when a good time would be to share my story. And today is the day. Just over a year ago I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, although this illness had a hold of me for a year or so before that.
Fans applauded Ramsey for her openness and for bringing awareness to the importance of prioritizing one’s mental health.
Ramsey has been an absolute highlight on The Last of Us so far, and I know she’ll only continue to do big things in her career. New episodes of the HBO series premiere every Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. EST.
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