What illness does ‘The Last of Us’ star Bella Ramsey have?

Be it the headstrong and brave Lyanna Mormont or the lovable Ellie, the former Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey (who uses they/them/their pronouns) has nailed every role and is recognized as one of the most talented young actors today. Their breakthrough role is in The Last of Us, where they play Ellie, a 14-year-old Cordyceps-immune orphan, which earned them enormous recognition and fame.

They appear alongside their Game of Thrones co-star Pedro Pascal, who plays the resilient Joe Miller. Thanks to their brilliant performances, Ramsey has acquired widespread popularity and a huge fan following.

As Ramsey’s fame continues to rise, fans want to know more and everything about them. In January 2023, the 19-year-old actor came out as nonbinary. Speaking on the subject, they confessed the challenges and struggles they had to undergo as a result of their gender identity.

In an interview with The New York Times, they said, “I’m very much just a person. Being gendered isn’t something that I particularly like. But in terms of pronouns, I really couldn’t care less.”

Bella Ramsay’s health history explained

Growing up, life wasn’t easy and smooth for Ramsey. Saying so, there is a striking piece of information about Ramsey, which reflects their personal struggles and compromising mental and physical health.

On World Mental Health Day in 2018, Ramsey took to Twitter to reveal that they had been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. This eating disorder usually consists of an excessive restriction of food intake, often to the point of starvation. People who have anorexia are obsessed with controlling their food intake due to their fear of weight gain.

Their condition was revealed after they refused to appear in the fourth series of The Worst Witch and was replaced by Lydia Page for the role of Mildred Hubble. Later, Ramsey mentioned suffering from eating disorders throughout the show’s first series. In an interview with Elle, they said:

“I know it’s sort of been publicized a lot that I left for mental health reasons. I would say the more accurate description is that I had resolved a lot of my mental health problems by that point. And then the idea was that ‘I’m not going to do this fourth season because it’s not worth it because I’m in a better place now. This is not something that I want to continue to string out and have the recurring issues that stem from that first season. I don’t need or want to do this anymore”.

Ramsey went on to mention that they had been struggling with anorexia for a couple of years, and at one point, even counseling stopped yielding positive results. Later, she stated that it was religious beliefs and her faith in Christianity that helped her recover from the illness.

Speaking on the subject, Ramsey said, “The truth is, we never got to the bottom of it, and I think this is the same for a lot of people struggling with mental health. There isn’t always an answer, but let me tell you this — there’s always a way out. There’s always light at the end of the tunnel no matter how dim it might seem.”  

Ramsey has proved inspirational for many, and as they continue to rise in popularity, the fans wish to see them in more future projects.