Grace Ashcroft

Grace was introduced in Resident Evil Requiem (2026) to focus more on the survival horror aspect. She was designed as a timid, fearful protagonist, contrasting with previous protagonists who often had military experience. According to producer Masato Kumazawa, their aim was to deliver a gaming experience that alternately involves players in the "most terrifying horror and the most thrilling action." Kumazawa stated their goal was "maximizing both the terror felt when transitioning from action to horror segments and the exhilaration experienced when shifting from horror to action segments." He added that Grace was introduced as Leon's counterpart to represent "an easily frightened character who is experiencing a biohazard situation for the first time." Director Koshi Nakanishi stated that the dual-protagonist structure of Requiem, in which players alternate between Leon S. Kennedy and Grace, was conceived to ensure the game would include slow-paced, horror-focused sections alongside faster-paced action sequences; this allowed the developers to show the differences in experience between Leon and Grace. Nakanishi noted Leon's sequences offer players a sense of release after Grace's chapters. When pursued by a stalking monster, Grace visibly stumbles in third-person. Reflecting her timid nature, Grace's hands visibly shake when handling firearms. These panicked character animations for Grace align with the "final girl" trope in horror films. The Requiem team initially struggled to achieve their desired visual quality for Grace's hair. A hair strand system for longer hair was developed by the Pragmata (2026) and RE Engine teams for the android character Diana. This rendering technology was later applied to Grace's hair in Requiem. The system allows luminescence to realistically shine through Grace's hair, which reacts properly when she is suspended upside down on a gurney. Playing the game with a real-life anxiety problem is the scariest the series has ever been, according to Angela, who claimed to have done "a lot of research" on panic disorders. Sant'Albano noted no amount of preparation adequately readied her for the overwhelming experience of portraying Grace, citing the character's desperate, fight-or-flight physicality as the most difficult aspect. As a young actor typically cast in familiar roles, Sant'Albano relished the opportunity to portray someone so different. The role required a new kind of physical storytelling, particularly in motion capture, where she enacted scenes of constant distress. == Appearances ==

Resident Evil Requiem Resident Evil Requiem begins with Grace Ashcroft working as a young technical analyst for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Her superior sends her to investigate a mysterious rash of infections and deaths in Wrenwood, a city near the remnants of Raccoon City. Grace investigates the latest death at the Wrenwood Hotel. She is captured by Dr. Victor Gideon, who takes her to the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center, where he has overseen human experimentation and the creation of bioweapons. After freeing herself, Grace discovers the center overrun with bioweapons. She encounters Leon S. Kennedy, who is also investigating the infections, alongside Gideon and Emily, a young cloned experimental subject. As she and Leon escape the Care Center, Emily is wounded and transforms into a bioweapon. Distraught, Grace willingly accompanies Gideon and the mysterious Zeno to the ruins of Raccoon City and the Umbrella Corporation's ARK Laboratory. While there, it is revealed that Grace is the adopted daughter of Oswell E. Spencer, co-founder of the Umbrella Corporation. Regretting his human experimentation, Spencer took in the orphaned Grace as an infant for atonement. Before dying, he transferred her guardianship to investigative reporter Alyssa Ashcroft. Gideon mistakenly believes Spencer used Grace in Raccoon City Orphanage cloning experiments and that she is the key to Elpis, a mind-control bioweapon. Having pursued Grace since her teenage years, he tracked them to the Wrenwood Hotel, killing Alyssa but failing to capture Grace. At ARK, Grace releases Elpis, realizing it is not a bioweapon but an antiviral curing Umbrella's decades-long experiments. As ARK disintegrates, Gideon and Zeno are killed and Grace and Leon are saved by Chris Redfield's team. Elpis is used on Emily, restoring her to a normal human, whom Grace subsequently adopts as her daughter. == Critical reception ==

Critics praised Grace's characterization and relatability. Scott Baird and Sam Smith of The Escapist called Grace a realistic protagonist who fears monsters, contrasting her with Leon's action-hero persona. Ashley Bardhan of GamesRadar+ said playing as Grace turned her into "the most anxious person alive", while Jordan Gerblick of the same publication argued Requiem proves Grace is the anxious hero needed for the series' scariest entry. Gerblick added her unmatched relatability among Resident Evil protagonists elevates the game's fear factor. Dom Peppiatt of Eurogamer stated that Grace is not only one of the best developed characters in the series but also a wonderfully timely addition to the Resident Evil protagonist pantheon. He expressed hope that Requiems downloadable content (DLC) would focus on Grace, providing a perfect contrast and enhancement to the main campaign. Jasmine Gould-Wilson of GamesRadar+ said Grace has her theorizing that the next Resident Evil remake will be Resident Evil Outbreak (2003) as part of Requiem itself. Grace's appearance in an early Requiem flashback also generated discussion; internet users joked she looked like she was controlling a Minecraft server. Additionally, players discovered via an out-of-bounds camera that young Grace is browsing the r/amateurjournalists subreddit on her laptop, discussing the events of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017). == Notes ==