MOVIE NEWS – Annie Wersching, best known for her role as Tess in The Last of Us, alongside 24 and Star Trek, has died of cancer at age 45.

Annie Wersching, the actress of The Last of Us and many films and television productions, has died of cancer at the age of 45. The news comes just weeks after her character appeared in HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us, and her husband announced her death in a statement.

Although she was known for her performances in 24, Bosch and Timeless, gamers may know Wersching best for her role as Theresa “Tess” Servopoulos in The Last of Us, for which she also did motion-capture and voice acting.

Born in 1977 in St. Louis, Missouri, Wersching has loved the stage since childhood. He studied Irish dance until he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre from Millikin University in 1999. Her first television role was Liana in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Oasis”. She then appeared in such acclaimed series as Fraiser, Charmed and Supernatural. Soon after, Wersching was cast as FBI Special Agent Renee Walker in the seventh and eighth seasons of 24.

After her stint on 24, Wersching continued to appear in series such as Hawaii Five-0, NCIS, Dallas and Castle. In 2014, she made her debut as Julia Brasher in the Prime Video original series Bosch. She starred in the first season and made several guest appearances in seasons 2 and 7.

While Wersching was a regular on television, she also played memorable roles in two video games.

In 2019, he recorded the voice and performance of Tassyn in Anthem. However, his most notable in-game performance was in Naughty Dog’s 2013 blockbuster The Last of Us. Wersching portrayed the character of Tess; as in Anthem, he provided voice and performance capture.

Goodbye, Tess!

It’s no exaggeration to say that Annie Wersching’s death also shook the gaming world. After a statement from her husband, Stephen Full, the official Twitter account of The Game Awards announced the sad news. A subsequent tweet noted that a GoFundMe had been set up to support her family, especially her three sons, aged 4 and 12. Details on the page reveal that Wersching was “diagnosed with cancer Summer of 2020” and that the news has made her even more reticent than ever to “protect her sons” and “live her life, on her terms, and be with her family.”

Since then, tributes have poured in from devastated fans, colleagues and friends.

Troy Baker, who provided the voice of The Last of Us star Joel Miller, wrote: “Annie, so much of Tess is what you imbued into the character.” Joel and Tess are introduced as smuggling partners following a time jump after the prologue. They have gained a ruthless reputation within the Boston black market that has developed since the outbreak of the Cordyceps epidemic. If Tess hadn’t been ambushed by Robert’s hired thugs one fateful day, the pair would probably never have met Ellie.

The Last of Us is currently streaming on HBO, with the third episode arriving today. Anna Torv has taken over the role of Tess in the series. Many people were baffled by the news, as unlike many video game actors, Wersching was also an established series actor who would have had no problem playing the character in the series. Now we know why she couldn’t do it, even if she had wanted to. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey have seamlessly taken on the personas of Joel and Ellie, respectively, in a series that has embraced everyone from critics to fans. It’s another footnote in the incredible legacy of The Last of Us, in which Wersching played no small part.

Rest in peace, Annie Wersching! (SPOILER WARNING if you haven’t seen the second episode of the series or played The Last of Us Part I!)

Source: Deadline

Actress Annie Wersching, who played Tess in The Last of Us, has sadly passed away from cancer at age 45. pic.twitter.com/PCvKMS9rFk

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) January 29, 2023