English actor Bella Ramsey was BOTD in 2003. Born in Nottingham, they attended school in Leicester, but struggled at secondary school, switching to online learning from the age of 12. Showing an early interest in acting, Ramsey performed at Stagecoach Theatre Arts and studied at the Television Workshop in Nottingham. In 2016, aged 13, they appeared in the sixth season of TV fantasy drama series Game of Thrones, playing the 10 year-old political leader Lyanna Mormont. Originally intended as a one-episode appearance, series producers were impressed by Ramsey’s assured, flinty performance, and wrote additional scenes for their character. Ramsey remained with the series for its penultimate and final seasons, becoming a viewer favourite, and was nominated with their cast mates for a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2020. Between GoT series, they starred in the 2017 children’s film The Worst Witch, winning a BAFTA Children’s Award, the historical drama Resistance and the TV serial adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. Their role as a foul-mouthed medieval princess in Catherine Called Birdy, directed by Lena Dunham, was also highly praised, winning a number of critics’ awards. They are best known for starring in the TV drama series The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic drama co-starring Pedro Pascal. Premiering in 2023 to ecstatic reviews and high ratings, the series and its 2025 second season earned Ramsey Emmy, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit and Screen Actors Guild nominations. Like many of their generation, Ramsey identifies as non-binary, queer, autistic and vegan, though in an interesting twist, is also a practising Christian. In 2025, they joined Queer Artists for Palestine, protesting Israel’s invasion of Gaza, and also criticised the UK Supreme Court’s decision to exclude trans women from the definition of “women” in the Equality Act. Describing themselves as “not 100 per cent straight” and “a little bit wavy”, Ramsey is thought to be in a relationship with actor Maisy Stella.