Actress Annie Wersching Has Died At 45 & 'Last Of Us' Fans Are Thanking Her For A Key Scene
Her 24 and Star Trek co-stars are crushed.
Annie Wersching. Right: Annie Wersching performing for The Last Of Us.
Actors, fans and the folks behind The Last Of Us are mourning actress Annie Wersching, after news of her death broke over the weekend.
Wersching, 45, was best-known for playing Renee Walker in the thriller series 24 and the Borg Queen in Star Trek: Picard. She also played the character of Tess in the original The Last Of Us video game, which has since been turned into a hit TV series on HBO.
The zombie survival series matches the video game almost shot-for-shot at times, and that includes a moving sacrifice involving Tess in Episode 2 of the show — a scene originally performed by Wersching.
Fans have been sharing that scene on TikTok and thanking Wersching for it in the hours since her death.
@aidagaming1 RIP Annie Wersching, the ultra-talented actress for Tess in TLOU 🤍 love this performance | #thelastofus #thelastofus2 #pedropascal #tlou #tlou2 #tloushow #hbo #hbomax #lastofus #gaming #gamingontiktok #fyp #fypシ #videogames #foryou #trending #tiktok #fakeblood #arthurmorgan #joelmiller #elliewilliams #rdr2 #reddeadredemption2 #ps4 #girlgamer #ps5 #anniewersching #rip
The Last Of Us creator Neil Druckmann also joined in to mourn the actress, who not voiced her character but also performed many of her scenes.
"I miss my silly friend who helped bring Tess to life," Druckmann wrote in a Twitter Tribute. "Annie, you left us way too soon. You will forever be part of the TLoU & Naughty Dog family!"
Druckmann shared some behind-the-scenes photos of Wersching doing motion-capture work for the 2013 video game. He also shared a GoFundMe link to help support her three children who are between the ages of 4 and 12.
\u201cI miss my silly friend who helped bring Tess to life. Annie, you left us way too soon. You will forever be part of the TLoU & Naughty Dog family! \ud83d\udc94 \n\nTLoU fans\u2026 let\u2019s show what we\u2019re made of. Please consider donating to her kids\u2019 gofundme: \n\nhttps://t.co/3QTnZtBY4B\u201d— Neil Druckmann (@Neil Druckmann) 1675035345
The GoFundMe page had already raised more than US $144,000 in its first day.
What was Annie Wersching's cause of death?
Annie Wersching died of cancer, her publicist told the Associated Press.
Wersching was diagnosed with cancer in summer 2020, according to her friend and fellow actress Ever Carradine.
The exact nature of Wersching's cancer has not been released.
Many fans and TV stars mourned Wersching through the GoFundMe page.
The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke, Star Trek actor Jonathan Frakes and Neil Druckmann of The Last Of Us were among those who donated thousands of dollars to the cause.
Others paid tribute to her on social media.
"The world lost a light today," 24 star Kiefer Sutherland tweeted on Sunday. He described Wersching as "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."
Wersching is survived by her husband, Stephen Full, along with her three sons.
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