Annie Wersching death: Last of Us and Vampire Diaries star dies age 45 - what TV shows was she in?

Star of The Last of Us video game and TV series Vampire Diaries Annie Wersching has passed away aged 45. She was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer in 2020, however she continued to act after receiving her diagnosis, appearing in prominent roles in a variety of TV shows.

In a statement shared with Deadline, Wersching’s husband, Stephen Full, said that her death has left “a cavernous hole in the soul of this family today”.

Who was Annie Wersching?

Wersching was an American actress who was born in St Louis, Missouri, on 28 March 1977. She attended high school at Crossroads College Preparatory School before graduating in 1995. She then went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in musical theatre from Millikin University, which she graduated from in 1999.

She kick started her acting career with a brief appearance on the show Star Trek: Enterprise, which was followed by a variety of guest starring roles on shows like Birds of Prey, Angel, Charmed, Out of Practice, iller Instinct, Supernatural and Boston Legal.

In 2007, she landed a recurring role on General Hospital as Amelia Joffe before going on to star as FBI Special Agent Renee Walker in the seventh and eighth seasons of 24. Audiences will also recognise Wersching in other roles, such as Julia Brasher in Bosch, Femi Dodd in Extant, Lily Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries, Emma Whitmore in Timeless, Rosalind Dyer in The Rookie and as the Borg Queen in Star Trek: Picard.

Wersching married fellow actor and comedian Stephen Full (Santa Clarita Diet, Dog with a Blog) at their home in Los Angeles in September 2009. The two have three sons together - Freddie, born 2010, Ozzie, born 2013, and Archie, born 2018.

Who was she in The Last of Us?

Wersching provided the voice and motion capture performance for the character of Tess in the 2013 The Last of Us video game. In the game, Tess is a friend and smuggling partner of Joel. In the recent TV adaptation of the game, Tess is portrayed by Anna Torv (Fringe, Mindhunter).

Wersching returned to video games in 2019, when she lent her voice and motion capture performance to Tassyn in Anthem.

When did she die?

Back in 2020, Wersching was diagnosed with cancer, and on 29 January 2023, she passed away at the age of 45.

In a statement shared with Deadline, Wersching’s husband, Stephen Full, said: “There is a cavernous hole in the soul of this family today. But she left us the tools to fill it. She found wonder in the simplest moment. She didn’t require music to dance. She taught us not to wait for adventure to find you. ‘Go find it. It’s everywhere.’ And find it we shall.

“As I drove our boys, the true loves of her life, down the winding driveway and street, she would yell BYE! until we were out of earshot and into the world. I can still hear it ringing. Bye my Buddie. ‘I love you little family…’”

After her death, a GoFundMe page was set up to support Wersching’s family, created by friend and actress Ever Carradine (The Handmaid’s Tale, Runaways).

Tributes for Annie Wersching

Following the news of her death, fans, friends and fellow actors have shared tributes for Wersching on Twitter.