You probably recognize her face from that one intense NBC procedural, or maybe you only know her voice as the girl who broke your heart in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Honestly, Ashley Johnson has been everywhere. Since she was a tiny kid in the early 90s, she’s been quietly building one of the most versatile careers in Hollywood.
She isn't just a "child star who stayed working." She’s become a cornerstone of the biggest fandoms on the planet. From Growing Pains to the gritty world of The Last of Us, the list of Ashley Johnson movies and tv shows is a wild ride through every genre imaginable.
The Sitcom Kid Who Never Left
Most people over the age of thirty remember her as Chrissy Seaver. She was the youngest kid on Growing Pains, joining the cast in 1990. It’s funny looking back at those episodes now because you can already see that natural timing she has. Usually, kid actors are either super stiff or way too "on," but Ashley just felt like a real kid.
After the sitcom world, she didn't just fade away like a lot of child actors do. She popped up in huge movies. Remember What Women Want with Mel Gibson? She played his daughter, Alex. She was also in The Help and even had a brief, famously "blink and you'll miss it" role in the first Avengers movie. She played Beth, the waitress in New York who gets saved by Captain America. There was actually a whole deleted subplot about her character that Joss Whedon eventually cut, which is a bummer because it added a lot of heart to the finale.
The Voice of a Generation (Literally)
If you grew up in the late 90s or early 2000s, Ashley Johnson was the soundtrack to your Saturday mornings. She was Gretchen Grundler on Recess. Yeah, the super smart girl with the glasses and the pigtails.
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She’s basically the queen of voice acting. Think about these roles:
- Terra in Teen Titans (that betrayal still stings, doesn't it?)
- Gwen Tennyson in the Ben 10 franchise.
- Tulip Olsen in the trippy and beautiful Infinity Train.
- Peter Shepherd in the Jumanji animated series.
It’s a massive range. She can go from playing a nerdy kid to a powerful sorceress without missing a beat. But we have to talk about the role that changed everything for her: Ellie.
The Ellie Effect and The Last of Us
When The Last of Us dropped in 2013, it shifted the way people thought about acting in video games. Ashley didn't just "voice" Ellie; she lived her through motion capture. She won two BAFTAs for that performance. If you've played the games, you know the raw, sobbing, screaming energy she brought to Part II. It’s heavy stuff.
Kinda cool fact: In the HBO live-action adaptation, she actually played Anna, Ellie’s mother. It was this beautiful, full-circle moment for the fans. Seeing the original Ellie give birth to the new Ellie (Bella Ramsey) was a stroke of genius by the showrunners.
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Blindspot and the Critical Role Boom
For five years, she was a series regular on Blindspot as Patterson. She was the "tech genius" character, but she made it way more interesting than the typical trope. She was funny, vulnerable, and honestly the best part of that show.
While she was filming Blindspot in New York, she was also flying back to LA—or Skyping in—to play Dungeons & Dragons with her friends for a little show called Critical Role.
Now, in 2026, Critical Role is a full-blown empire. Ashley is the President of the Critical Role Foundation and a lead in their animated shows. She voiced Pike Trickfoot in The Legend of Vox Machina and is currently gearing up for The Mighty Nein animated series on Prime Video.
Why People Keep Coming Back to Her Work
There's an authenticity to her. Whether she’s playing a drow Paladin named Vaelus in the latest Critical Role campaign or a forensic scientist, she never feels like she's "acting."
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If you want to dive into her filmography, don't just stick to the big hits. Check out Much Ado About Nothing (the 2012 version). It’s a black-and-white Shakespeare film shot at Joss Whedon's house, and she’s fantastic in it. Or look for her in The Killing—she had a recurring role as Amber Ahmed that was incredibly haunting.
What’s Next for Ashley?
She isn't slowing down. With The Mighty Nein series on the horizon and her ongoing work with Critical Role, she's busier than ever. She’s also recently been doing a podcast called Weird Kids with Taliesin Jaffe, where they talk about growing up as child actors. It’s a great look into how she stayed so grounded despite being in the industry for over thirty years.
Your Next Move: If you’ve only seen her in Blindspot, go watch The Legend of Vox Machina on Prime Video. It’ll show you a completely different side of her talent. If you’re a gamer and haven't played The Last of Us, well... grab some tissues and get on that immediately.