Ellie in The Last of Us was not officially modeled after one single person in the final version. The most widely cited source says Naughty Dog later adjusted her design to better resemble Ashley Johnson, who voiced and performed Ellie, while earlier concept art drew noticeable inspiration from Ellen Page’s look.

What changed

  • Early Ellie designs had a stronger resemblance to Ellen Page, according to reporting around the game’s original trailer.
  • Naughty Dog later said they modified Ellie’s model to better reflect Ashley Johnson’s personality and appearance.
  • So the safest answer is: early inspiration from Ellen Page, final character design closer to Ashley Johnson.

Why people still debate it

Fans still bring up Ellen Page/Elliot Page because the resemblance in early footage was strong enough to spark attention, but the studio later clarified the redesign. The character we know today is best understood as an original design that evolved during development rather than a direct copy of one face.

TL;DR

Ellie was initially inspired by Ellen Page’s likeness , but Naughty Dog later redesigned her to look more like Ashley Johnson , her voice and performance actor.