Annie Wersching, Who Played Tess In The Last Of Us, Has Died

Actor Annie Wersching, who played the role of Tess in Naughty Dog’s The Last Of Us video game, has died at the age of 45.

Wersching was diagnosed with cancer in 2020 but continued to act throughout her illness and treatment, appearing in series like Star Trek: Picard. As Deadline reports, her husband, Stephen Full, said in a statement:

There is a cavernous hole in the soul of this family today. But she left us the tools to fill it. She found wonder in the simplest moment. She didn’t require music to dance. She taught us not to wait for adventure to find you. ‘Go find it. It’s everywhere.’ And find it we shall.

She is perhaps best known for her role as Renee Walker in the seventh and eights series of 24, though she also made regular appearances on Bosch and Timeless as well. Wersching is survived by her husband and three sons.

Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann wrote, “Just found out my dear friend, Annie Wersching, passed away. We just lost a beautiful artist and human being. My heart is shattered. Thoughts are with her loved ones.”

As you can see in the video below, Wersching didn’t just provide Tess’ voice, but also acted out the role for motion capture as well

Our thoughts are with her family and friends. A GoFundMe has been set up for Wersching’s family:

This Go Fund Me is for them. It’s so Steve can have time to grieve without the pressure of needing to work. So he can be daddy to Freddie (12), Ozzie (9) and Archie (4) as they navigate the future without their mom, without sweet Annie. It’s so they can continue to go to baseball games (Go Cardinals!) take music lessons and play little league. It’s to help pay for college. It’s so Steve can continue Annie’s tradition of filling the house with every life-sized balloon that’ll fit in the car for birthday mornings. It’s to give them time to navigate life as a family of four without the burden of paying medical bills or funeral expenses. It’s so they can continue to live life in a way that they know would make Annie proud.