How old is Ellie in The Last of Us? TV show, Part 1 & Part 2 explained

Cameron Frew
Bella Ramsey as Ellie and Ellie in The Last of Us TV show and game

How old is Ellie in The Last of Us? Bella Ramsey stars as Ellie in the TV show, but how old is the character compared to the Part 1 and Part 2 games?

In our review, we said The Last of Us is “already set to be one of the best shows of 2023” after Episode 1, which “doesn’t just feel like a step forward – it’s a new dawn for the genre.”

The show, an adaptation of the acclaimed 2013 game, follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Ramsey) on a treacherous cross-country trip across America amid a deadly, monstrous pandemic – and the infected aren’t their only concern.

With the first episode recently premiering on HBO, some fans may be asking: how old is Ellie in the TV show, and is she the same age in The Last of Us game?

How old is Ellie in The Last of Us?

Ellie is 14 years old in The Last of Us TV show, while Bella Ramsey is 19 in real life. In the first game, Ellie is also 14, and in The Last of Us Part 2, she’s 19 years old.

The events of the first game roughly take place over the course of a year, and while we don’t know her exact birthday, it’s likely the show will finish with her closer to 15 years old.

It also means Ellie was born in 2009, six years into the Cordyceps pandemic. This is slightly different from the game’s timeline, where Outbreak Day happened on September 26, 2013, with the main events unfolding in 2033.

Co-showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin have already indicated future seasons will adapt Part II, so Ramsey is already at the perfect age to play Ellie across the show.

The Last of Us Episode 2 will be available to watch on January 22 in the US and January 23 in the UK. You can check out the rest of our coverage here.

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About The Author

Cameron is Deputy TV and Movies Editor at Dexerto. He's an action movie aficionado, '80s obsessive, Oscars enthusiast, and a staunch Scot. He earned a First-Class Honours Degree in Multimedia Journalism from Glasgow Caledonian University, accredited by the NCTJ and BJTC. He began his career at UNILAD, starting as a Junior Journalist and becoming Entertainment Editor prior to joining Dexerto. You can contact him at cameron.frew@dexerto.com.