Annie Wersching Dead at 45 — How Did ‘The Rookie’ Write Her Character off the Show?
ABC‘s The Rookie star Annie Wersching unexpectedly died on Sunday, Jan. 29. Wersching played Rosalind Dyer, easily one of The Rookie‘s most notorious villains. She was one of our favorite bad guys to watch as she tormented Nolan, Lucy, and the rest of the LAPD. And we, along with other fans, will greatly miss Wersching as Rosalind in The Rookie.
‘The Rookie’ star Annie Wersching’s cause of death
Deadline first reported the news of The Rookie star Annie Wersching’s death on Sunday, Jan. 29. She was 45 years old. According to the actor’s publicist, Wersching died of cancer after being diagnosed in 2020. Despite her illness, Wersching continued to appear in shows such as The Rookie and Star Trek: Picard.
The actor also had prominent roles in 24, Castle, Bosch, Extant, The Vampire Diaries, Timeless, and Marvel’s Runaways. She also provided the voice and motion capture of Tess in the video game series, The Last of Us.
Wersching’s husband, Stephen Full, released a statement along with the news of her death. It reads:
“There is a cavernous hole in the soul of this family today. But she left us the tools to fill it. She found wonder in the simplest moment. She didn’t require music to dance. She taught us not to wait for adventure to find you. ‘Go find it. It’s everywhere.’ And find it we shall. As I drove our boys, the true loves of her life, down the winding driveway and street, she would yell BYE! until we were out of earshot and into the world. I can still hear it ringing. Bye my Buddie. ‘I love you little family…'”
Rosalind died in ‘The Rookie’ Season 5
Annie Wersching first appeared as Rosalind Dyer in The Rookie Season 2 Episode 10. Rosalind was a convicted serial killer who had made a deal with the Assistant District Attorney. In exchange for commuting her death sentence to life without parole, Rosalind agreed to reveal the locations of three of her victims’ bodies. However, as is always the case with Rosalind, she had a hidden agenda.
Rosalind was secretly working with Caleb Wright, who continued the killer’s work outside prison. And he set his sights on Lucy Chen in season 2. Thankfully, the LAPD found Lucy before it was too late, and the deal with Rosalind was off.
The inmate continued to appear throughout the series sporadically, but the show wrote another major story involving Rosalind in season 5. During the premiere, Rosalind escaped while on trial for Caleb’s crimes. Outside custody, Rosalind began killing again, and she almost killed Lucy’s boyfriend at the time, Chris.
In The Rookie Season 5 Episode 4, Rosalind’s grand plan was finally revealed when she set a trap for Nolan’s girlfriend, Bailey. Rosalind later lured Nolan away from the scene under the promise that he could save Bailey. Once he was face-to-face with the serial killer, she told him that to rescue Bailey, he would have to kill her.
Nolan refused to kill Rosalind, even if it meant that Bailey would die. However, the other characters figured out how to get Bailey out of the trap. But before Nolan could take Rosalind into custody, her apprentice shot her in the head.
Some fans believed Rosalind faked her death in The Rookie and that Annie Wersching would reprise her role in season 5. However, that appears not to be the case.
‘The Rookie’ creator pays tribute to Annie Wersching
Following the news of Annie Wersching’s death, The Rookie creator and showrunner Alexi Hawley paid tribute to the actor on Twitter.
“Such sad news,” Hawley wrote. “Annie was part of The Rookie family. A special person and true talent who brought joy to our set and elevated every scene she was in. Please donate if you are able.”
He attached a link to a GoFundMe page to support her family through this difficult time.
The Rookie Season 5 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
