Abby (The Last of Us)

Abigail "Abby" Anderson is a character in the video game The Last of Us Part II (2020) by Naughty Dog. She is portrayed by Laura Bailey through motion capture and voice acting in the game, and Kaitlyn Dever in the second season of the television adaptation. A soldier of the Washington Liberation Front (WLF), Abby seeks to avenge her father's death by killing Joel Miller. Her alliances later become unsettled when she befriends two ex-members of the Seraphites, a religious cult with which the WLF is locked in a war. Abby is one of two main playable characters in the game, alongside Ellie.

Abby was created by Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross, the writers of The Last of Us Part II. The original switch to playing as Abby was done to demonstrate her personality; Druckmann wanted players to hate Abby early in the game, but later empathize with her through her flaws and redemptive actions. He wanted to avoid casting Bailey due to her proliferation of roles, but was impressed with her audition tape in how she had played into Abby's vulnerability. Bailey worked out in preparation for the role, and gave birth to her first son during production. She also prepared by researching people involved in wars and their coping mechanisms. Abby's face was modeled on Jocelyn Mettler, while her body was based on Colleen Fotsch.

The character of Abby was well-received by critics, with many noting that her redemption arc was believable and made the character likable by the game's end. Her playable chapters were controversial among players, and Bailey became the target of online death threats; some critics felt that the character had been unfairly maligned, and that criticisms of her muscular physique was a result of the lack of body diversity in video games. Bailey's performance was widely praised and she received accolades at the British Academy Games Awards, The Game Awards, and the NAVGTR Awards.