Actress Annie Wersching, who played Tess in video game The Last of Us, has died aged 45.
Annie was born in Missouri, USA in March 1977. She began her career as guest character in Star Trek: Enterprise. She went on to star in a range of popular American shows, such as Frasier, Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries.
In 2014, she starred in The Last of US using voice and motion-capture Tess. The game saw Tess, alongside fellow protagonists Joel (Troy Baker) and Ellie (Ashley Johnson) attempt to survive in a post zombie apocalyptic world.
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Neil Druckmann, the creator of the popular video game, said she "left us way too soon". He tweeted: "I miss my silly friend who helped bring Tess to life."
Kiefer Sutherland, who co-starred alongside Annie in US TV series 24, also expressed his sorrow, saying the "world lost a light today". He said: "Annie was one of the greatest actors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, and my friend. My heart breaks for her young family. May she be remembered for the beautiful person that she was."
Annie was diagnosed with cancer in summer 2020. On a GoFundMe page set up for her children, it was revealed that she kept her illness private and wanted to continue working for her husband and two sons.
The PlayStation exclusive received critical acclaim upon its release, with a score of 95/100 on review aggregator site Metacritic based on 98 industry reviews. Video game site IGN labelled it a "masterpiece".
The game was recently adapted into a television series, with Mindhunter actress Anna Torv playing the role of Tess. Speaking about the role, she praised the game's plot as a "human story".
Annie featured as prominent characters in other hit US TV series. These included playing Renee Walker in 24 and Lily Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries. Her last role was a return to Star Trek in Star Trek: Picard as a Borg Queen.
Her other video game performance was as Tassyn in Anthem, an online action RPG released in 2019.
Video game producer Druckmann urged fans of the game to donate to the gofundme. The page reads: "Annie lived for her family. She loved her work and cherished her friends, but Steve and the boys were her absolute everything. This Go Fund Me is for them.
"Everyone loved Annie. Everyone. But however much we loved her, she loved her boys more. Let's help take care of them for her."
You can donate to her gofundme page here.
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