The breakout star of HBO’s The Last Of Us cast is, without a doubt, Bella Ramsey, whose Ellie is a character it’s almost impossible to look away from in any given scene, even when she’s sharing the screen with actors like Pedro Pascal and Anna Torv — but, despite her age, Ramsay has a long history of stealing the show.

For most Americans of a certain age — which is to say, not kids; we’ll get to that in a second — Ramsey is probably most familiar for her role as Lyanna Mormont in HBO’s Game of Thrones, which she appeared in from the show’s sixth to eighth seasons.

A confident, at times intimidating, character, Lyanna was a dream role for any young actor — and one that Ramsey carried off with seeming ease, despite the fact that it was her first credited role. No less an authority than the Hollywood Reporter called her the “breakout star” of the show’s sixth season, in fact — perhaps all the more impressive considering she was just 13 when starting on the show.

Equally impressive was the fact that Ramsey was juggling her work on Game of Thrones with the CBBC/Netflix adaptation of Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch, in which she played lead character Mildred Hubble for three of the show’s four seasons. (She left before the final season, obliquely citing her mental health as the reason.)

As if two shows weren’t enough to juggle, Ramsey had a third starring role at the same time, voicing the title character in the Netflix animated adaptation of Luke Pearson’s Hilda graphic novels, which ran for two seasons and a final installment as a feature.

In recent years, things have calmed down slightly for the actress — no longer working on three shows simultaneously since 2020 — but she remains in demand, even beyond The Last Of Us; in the last year, she’s appeared as a series regular in Starz’s historical drama Becoming Elizabeth, as well as taking the lead role in Lena Dunham’s critically acclaimed movie Catherine Called Birdy.

And now, she’s Ellie in The Last Of Us, one of her most high-profile roles to date — and one guaranteed to win her more fans. Given how much she’s achieved in less than seven years, it’s almost scary to think about what’s next for her at this point. For now, appreciate her turn in the post apocalyptic series and prepare to tell people in the near future, you remember her way back when.

Want to know about the rest of the Last Of Us cast? We can do that for you right here.