How Old is Ellie in The Last of Us?

Ellie from The Last of Us on HBO is an iconic video game character brought wonderfully to life by portraying actor Bella Ramsey. She was the deuteragonist of the original game, the plucky and quick-witted foil to Joel Miller. In the tv series The Last of Us though, Ellie seems especially young but by no means naive, so viewers might be wondering just how old she is. It’s a terrifying world inside and outside the QZs of the story, not for the faint of heart, and certainly not for children.

Ellie’s Age: How Old is Ellie in The Last of Us on HBO?

Ellie is 14 years old in the events of The Last of Us on HBO, born likely between 2008 and 2009 according to the series timeline. This differs from her early 2019 birthday in the games, but she is still the same age in this adaptation due to the story simply taking place 10 years earlier than initially depicted. She’s a teenager who was born and forced to grow up in a world essentially destroyed by CBI, a tragic fate for any child.

Related: Who is Riley in The Last of Us?

The earliest depiction of Ellie had her as 13 years old in The Last of Us: American Dreams, a miniseries published by Dark Horse Comics. The story served as a basis for Ellie’s life in the QZ before falling in with the Fireflies and meeting Joel. This was before the significant loss was encountered, and it wouldn’t be Ellie’s only traumatic event in the series.

How Old is Ellie in The Last of Us Part 2?

In the events of The Last of Us Part 2, Ellie is 19 years old. If the HBO series adapts Part 2 for its second season, this will be increasingly important as it takes Ellie on a harrowing survival epic seemingly just after she reaches adulthood. Hardened by the events of the first game and haunted by events that happen throughout the game, she does not come through this the same person as she was starting.

How Old is Bella Ramsey in TLOU?

Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie in The Last of Us, is 19 years old as of 2022, having been born in 2003. This is funny timing, given that 2003 is the same year in the show where the world falls apart. This is also a significant coincidence in when Ellie will be depicted for later seasons as an adult, where she goes through some of the darkest moments of her still very young life.