Who is Abby in The Last of Us? Actor, character and backstory explained
Everything you need to know about Abby - including major spoilers.
With The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered out now, players unfamiliar with the story might be wondering who Abby Anderson is, and for those very players, we have the character, backstory and actor explained.
You’ll definitely want to play The Last of Us Part 1 first if you haven’t already, as you’ll get a lot more out of the plot if you do, and you’ll have far more of an emotional attachment to characters such as Ellie and Joel, making for a much more impactful playthrough.
We’d also recommend watching HBO’s brilliant TV adaption, which is very faithful to the source material while also adding its own unique take.
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Season 2 is in the works as well, so it won’t be the last of The Last of Us for quite some time.
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There won’t be a multiplayer game unfortunately, though, as The Last of Us Online was cancelled at the tail end of 2023.
Hopefully, we’ll get a Part 2 PC release to quench our thirst, though, and so even more people can experience Naughty Dog’s masterpiece.
But before we continue, be aware that there are major spoilers for both The Last of Us Part 1, Part 2 and the TV series, so stop reading if you want to experience the story with fresh eyes!
Who is Abby in The Last of Us 2?
Abby is one of the two playable characters in The Last of Us 2, alongside Ellie.
Her story runs parallel to Ellie’s, and offers a different perspective of events in the wake of Joel’s actions in the first game.
After losing her father and the disbandment of the Fireflies, she travels to Seattle to join the Washington Liberation Front, in the hopes of finding purpose in her life once more.
In the years that follow, Abby becomes hardened and an adept fighter, making her a formidable foe.
After confronting her literal and metaphorical demons, Abby’s belief system is challenged, and she finds her world in turmoil once more when she meets Yev and Yara, prompting Abby to reinvent herself and finally find peace.
Who plays Abby in The Last of Us 2 game?
Laura Bailey plays Abby in The Last of Us Part 2.
Bailey is a voice acting veteran, and has been featured in innumerable amounts of games, anime and animations.
Bailey also voiced a few smaller characters in the original Last of Us, and reprised her role as a nurse in the HBO TV adaptation.
Other video game highlights include Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man 2, Kait Diaz in Gears 5, Nadine Ross in Uncharted 4 and Serana in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
You may also have heard her playing Trunkz in Dragon Ball Z, Tressa and Serena in Winx Club or as Gwen Stacy, Ghost-Spider and Black Widow in Disney XD’s Spider-Man.
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Who will play Abby in The Last of Us TV show?
Kaitlyn Dever will play Abby in The Last of Us TV show.
This was confirmed along with other cast members for season 2. Dever has a previous connection to Naughty Dog, as she voiced Cassie Drake and provided motion capture for Uncharted 3: A Thief’s End.
Dever has also starred in Olivia Wilde’s 2019 comedy film Booksmart as Amy Antsler. She played Eve Baxter in the sitcom Last Man Standing for nine seasons, too.
She will also feature in Annapurna Interactive’s Open Roads, an interactive movie mystery-thriller game that sees a mother and daughter face their troubled paths together.
What is Abby’s backstory in The Last of Us 2?
Born shortly after the cordyceps infection, Abby Anderson has lived her entire life during the apocalypse.
Abby lived with her father Jerry Anderson - the head surgeon and co-leader of the Fireflies – in Salt Lake City, as he worked to try and find a vaccine for the cordyceps fungal infection.
At the end of The Last of Us, Joel discovers the Fireflies’ intention to kill Ellie in order to find out how she is immune to the cordyceps fungus, and in a rage, breaks back into the hospital to rescue her, killing many in his path.
One of the victims was Jerry Anderson. Abby and Jerry were very close, and his death ruins her.
After suffering such heartbreak, Abby vows vengeance, and seeks to track Joel down and kill him - making her way to Seattle to join the Washington Liberation Front.
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