Celebrity Traitors star Bella Ramsey’s impressive life and career at just 23

Bella Ramsey is just one of a handful of queer stars set to get sneaky in Celebrity Traitors, and they’re potentially one of the biggest names in the castle, despite being just 23.

Ramsey, who lists the likes of Pedro Pascal among their friends and co-workers, joins other out LGBTQ+ icons including Sebastian Croft, Joe Lycett and Myha’la in the Scottish castle.

The English actor, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, got their global big break in Game of Thrones, playing Lyanna Mormont between seasons six and eight.

They later landed the lead role of Ellie in post-apocalyptic drama The Last Of Us, alongside Pascal, which premiered in 2023.

Ramsey’s work in those two shows, both from HBO, have seen them receive countless award nominations, including at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards and TV BAFTAs, as well as many more.

Game of Thrones was the actor’s first major role in 2016, when they were just 12 or 13.

And they haven’t looked back, also appearing in CBBC’s The Worst Witch between 2017 and 2020, BBC/HBO series His Dark Materials in 2020, as well as the Netflix animated series Hilda from 2018 to 2023.

As for the big screen, Ramsey has appeared in the likes of Holmes & Watson (2018), Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023), and this year’s Prime Video film The Sheep Detectives.

But Celebrity Traitors is set to be Ramsey’s first time really being themself on television, rather than acting as a character.

Speaking ahead of the series’ launch, Ramsey suggested their career as an actor could come in helpful. They said: “I do think [acting skills] can give you a bit of an edge. For me, anyway, because again, if I was telling a lie, people would spot me instantly. Playing a character, it’s like that’s what I do!”

Is Bella Ramsey LGBTQ+?

Bella Ramsey came out publicly as non-binary in January 2023, and told The Guardian earlier in 2026 that they/them pronouns “feel the most accurate”.

Speaking to Louis Theroux in May 2025, Ramsey said they hadn’t thought about their pronouns until The Last of Us was being released. “I was so stressed out about it, because I didn’t know and I didn’t really care,” they said. They went on: “My thing right now is, call me how you see me. I’m so aware that I’ll get in a taxi and the driver will call me she because it’s a natural thing which happens in your brain, which I completely get. I’ve never been strict about they/them, because I think I just don’t really care. I’m very comfortable in who I am. I know it’s important for some people, but for me it’s not that important.”

The actor went on to discuss gendered categories at award shows, saying in May 2025 that it was “really complicated”, adding that they felt it was “important” to keep female categories to preserve “recognition for women in the industry”. There had been upset at the time from fans, when Ramsey was nominated in a female category at the Emmys.

In 2023, Ramsey also spoke of their sexuality, telling British Vogue they are “not 100 per cent straight”, adding: “I’m a little bit wavy, you know? That’s what I like to say.”

They have also spoken about feeling uncomfortable using specific labels when it comes to their sexuality.

What else should you know?

Bella Ramsey started being able to spend more time acting after moving to online school at the age of 12, which was more manageable as they are neurodivergent.

Ramsey told The Guardian in 2025 that they realised they worked better with older people on the Game of Thrones set because they are neurodivergent, adding: “That’s part of why I feel more understood by adults.”

They are a patron of Leicester-based Bamboozle Theatre, which offers experiences for autistic young people, or those with learning disabilities.

Aside from that, they have shown support for Palestine, signing an open letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in May 2025.

Ramsey also pledged solidarity with the transgender, non-binary and intersex communities following the 2025 Supreme Court ruling.

They have also been appointed as a Greenpeace Oceans Ambassador.

The Celebrity Traitors kicks off at 8pm on BBC One on 1 October.

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