Bella Ramsey

Isabella May Ramsey (born 25 September 2003) is an English actor. They are known for their breakthrough role as young noblewoman Lyanna Mormont in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2016–2019) and as Ellie in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us (2023–present). For the latter, they received nominations for a BAFTA Television Award, Golden Globe Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

Ramsey played Mildred Hubble in the CBBC series The Worst Witch (2017–2020), voiced the title role in the Netflix animated series Hilda (2018–2023), and starred in the historical comedy film Catherine Called Birdy (2022), for which they were nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer. Ramsey's portrayal of Kelsey Morgan in the BBC prison drama Time (2023) earned them the Royal Television Society Award for Female Supporting Actor.

Isabella May Ramsey was born in Nottingham on 25 September 2003. They began their education in Leicestershire before transitioning to the online school King's InterHigh at age 12, as they "really didn't enjoy mainstream secondary school and wasn't happy". The shift to a flexible learning environment allowed Ramsey to balance education with their acting career.

Growing up, Ramsey enjoyed art, music, writing and football, while performing with local amateur theatre groups, including Stagecoach Theatre Arts, from a young age. At age 10, Ramsey joined the Television Workshop in Nottingham, which provided training and support for early auditions, including for Game of Thrones. Ramsey credits the Workshop for shaping their approach to acting: "[it] teaches you to be and become. No pretending."

From 2016 to 2019, Ramsey portrayed Lyanna Mormont in the HBO fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones. The part is Ramsey's first credited role. After their debut appearance in the sixth season episode "The Broken Man", fans and critics noted Ramsey was a standout actor for portraying their character's no-nonsense leadership style. Co-showrunner D.B. Weiss said Lyanna was "only ever meant to be in one scene, not a prominent supporting character for multiple seasons," but after they realized Ramsey's performance, "that we would not be doing our jobs if we kept her as a one-scene character." This reaction was repeated after their appearance in the season finale, with The Hollywood Reporter calling them "season 6's breakout star". Ramsey continued in the role for the series's seventh and eighth seasons.

Ramsey starred as Mildred Hubble in the CBBC fantasy drama series The Worst Witch (2017–2019), for which they won the Young Performer award at the 2019 British Academy Children's Awards. Their role was recast with Lydia Page for the fourth and final season. Ramsey portrayed Miranda, a rebellious teenager, in the psychological drama film Two for Joy (2018), and voiced the title character in the Netflix original series Hilda. The series marked the debut of Ramsey's singing talent, with their debut song "The Life of Hilda" released on 25 November 2020. They reprised the role of Hilda in the 80-minute movie special, Hilda and the Mountain King, which premiered on 30 December 2021. For their role in Hilda, Ramsey was nominated for Best Voice Performance at the British Animation Awards in 2020 and 2022.

In 2020, Ramsey was cast in the second season of His Dark Materials as Angelica, a young girl from the world of Cittàgazze. Ramsey portrayed Elsbeth in the biographical drama Resistance (2020), which explores how Marcel Marceau helped Jewish children escape Nazi persecution during World War II. Ramsey was drawn to the film because "the script didn't shy away from the reality of war [in] telling such an important story". TheWrap's Michael Nordine praised Ramsey's performance as "affecting", noting "great things can be expected of the teenage thespian in the future". In 2021, they appeared in the lesbian horror short film Requiem alongside Safia Oakley-Green. Ramsey starred in their first leading film role as Lady Catherine in Catherine Called Birdy (2022), a medieval coming-of-age comedy written and directed by Lena Dunham and adapted from Karen Cushman's novel. Rolling Stone's David Fear hailed Ramsey as "a gift from the casting gods". Ramsey wrote and performed "Birdy Song" for the film's soundtrack.

In February 2021, Ramsey was cast in the lead role of Ellie for the HBO adaptation of the 2013 video game The Last of Us alongside fellow Game of Thrones alumnus Pedro Pascal. They received the news during production on a different project. Ramsey's performance and chemistry with Pedro Pascal's Joel received praise. For the first season in 2023, they received several awards nominations, including at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, and 39th TCA Awards. Ramsey's second-season performance in 2025 was praised; they were nominated at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2025, making them the youngest two-time lead drama actress nominee.