The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey lands Vogue cover and talks feeling ‘trapped’ by sexuality and gender labels
"The label of being autistic has been so helpful to me because that’s helped me to understand myself, but gender and sexuality-wise, labels do not feel comfy" says Bella
By Gary Grimes
Bella Ramsey has reflected on their decision to come out publicly as nonbinary when they were 19 years old.
Ramsey, who appears on the latest cover of British Vogue, expressed mixed feelings about their coming out moment which occurred via an interview with The New York Times in January 2023.
“Part of the job of being an actor is that you’re supposed to have an answer to every question that people ask you,” the star – the on-screen daughter figure to Pedro Pascal in the epic HBO series The Last of Us – told the magazine. “But actually the answer can be: ‘I don’t know and I’m not ready to talk about that,’ and that’s something that I’m still figuring out.”
The actor spoke of how they were diagnosed with autism whilst filming the first season of the video game-inspired series, and compared the experience of having a label for their neurodivergence versus having one for their gender identity and sexuality. “The label of being autistic has been so helpful to me because that’s helped me to understand myself, but gender and sexuality-wise, labels do not feel comfy for me in any capacity, because I feel like I’m putting myself into a box. I feel trapped.”
Ramsey also lamented that their public profile since appearing on the series has made exploring themselves significantly harder. “It does make me a bit sad that people who aren’t in the public eye can explore their gender identity or sexuality in private,” they said.
“That’s a privilege I don’t really get any more. If I did want to explore other things, like facets of my gender identity, that would be done publicly. As much as I would try and keep it private, if someone recognises me on the street, say if I’m presenting differently, [and] takes a photo, then that is just talked about.”
Ramsey is currently gearing up for the upcoming second season premiere of The Last of Us which returns to screens on 13 April.
See the full feature in the April issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday 25 March.