Bella Ramsey has been a star since their first on-screen moment.
The British actor, who is just 21, achieved overnight international acclaim for their break-out performance a few years back as Lyanna Mormont on HBO fantasy smash-hit “Game of Thrones.”
Now, they’re the star of another widely popular HBO offering – “The Last of Us,” an adaptation of a post-apocalyptic video game bearing the same name. Ramsey’s work as Ellie, one of the show’s (and the game’s) main characters, has been raw, poignant and complex throughout.
That performance has now made history. Ramsey is the first openly nonbinary actor ever to receive two Emmy Award nominations – not in one year, but ever. Though other nonbinary actors have been nominated for one Emmy – for example, Emma Corrin for their performance as Princess Diana on historical Netflix drama “The Crown” – none have secured multiple nods. Until Ramsey, that is, who was nominated for their work as Ellie in both the first and second seasons of “The Last of Us.” The 2025 Emmy nominations were announced this week, and in all, “The Last of Us” scored 16 nods, Ramsey’s among them.
Only a few other actors who are transgender or nonbinary have garnered awards consideration from any creative organization, and those bits of recognition have only happened recently. Mj Rodriguez was the first trans person to score a Golden Globe for their acting work on “Pose,” the beloved FX drama, in 2022; Karla Sofía Gascón became the first trans Oscar nominee just this year, for her performance in Spanish-language musical mystery “Emilia Perez.”
Ramsey’s recognition is especially noteworthy – and for some, satisfying – given the level of vitriol they have received for portraying the beloved video-game character. Their unique features, acting decisions and more have led scores of fans to claim they have “ruined the series,” surely an extension of our societal struggle to accept complicated non-male characters.
It has also brought up an ongoing discussion around acting awards being split into “male” and “female” – Ramsey was nominated in the female lead actress category, as the Ellie character is a young woman – with other nonbinary actors pushing back against the limiting categorizations.
For their part, Ramsey is fine with how things are divided up, stating that it helps ensure that “recognition for women in the industry is preserved.”
The 77th Emmy Award winners will be announced Sept. 14.
