Nadine Ross is a recurring character in the Uncharted series. She is introduced as the secondary antagonist of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, and returns as the deuteragonist of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.
She is a South African former private military contractor later turned treasure hunter, and the former leader of the paramilitary organization Shoreline, which was eventually hired by businessman Rafe Adler to aid him in his search for the mythical pirate colony of Libertalia.
In both of her appearances, Nadine is voiced and motion-captured by Laura Bailey.
History[]
Background[]
Not a lot is known about Nadine. She took over Shoreline after the death of its original founder, her father. Nadine and her unit are known to have had a prior run-in with Victor Sullivan, though he was able to gain the upper hand.
During Chapter 17 of A Thief's End, Elena Fisher reveals that Shoreline entered a few civil wars that ended in defeat, speculating that they hope the discovery of Libertalia will help restore their reputation.
A life full of war and confrontation has led to Nadine becoming a very strong and capable woman and military figure. Nadine is also a very tough fighter and is able to comfortably hold her own in a number of different confrontations, even while battling both Sam and Nathan Drake at the same time.
A Thief's End[]
Nadine and her partner Rafe are first seen at the Rossi Estate auction, where they are trying to buy the second St. Dismas cross. The duo are unsuccessful however, with the Drake brothers and Victor Sullivan stealing it instead. Nate then has an encounter with Nadine whilst hiding in the library, with Nadine trying to take the cross from Nate. Nadine demonstrates her skills in unarmed combat and easily outmatches Nate in a fistfight, although he manages to escape after Nadine throws him out a window.
Nadine and Rafe then proceed to follow the only lead they have, and continue digging up the St. Dismas cathedral in Scotland. There, they overhear both Nate and Sam discussing the next clue which lies in Madagascar.
Due to Shoreline's sheer man power, Nadine and Rafe quickly gain the upper hand in the search. However, they once again lose this advantage as the Drakes track down the correct watch tower.
Knowing that they cannot outsmart Nate, Sam, and Sully, Rafe tracks their phones and intercepts their messages, finding the location of both the tower and Libertalia as a result. He then uses Shoreline's forces to unleash a full assault on Sam in the hopes of killing him. Nate rescues him and the two escape, but Rafe proceeds to track them to Libertalia, with Nadine accompanying him along with the remaining Shoreline contractors.
She eventually heads off the brothers, and confronts them both about the treasure and the number of her men that they have killed. Another fistfight ensues, and Nadine easily outmatches both of them until she is caught off-guard from a surprise assault by Nathan. Sam then holds her hostage until Rafe arrives, whereupon he threatens to kill Nadine. Rafe doesn't let this affect him and calls Sam's bluff, with Nate having to stop him from killing Nadine by jerking his hand away just as he fires. This leaves a dent in the trust between both Rafe and Nadine, as he would have let her die.
The two then use Sam to lead them to the wreck of Henry Avery's ship. Once there, Nadine refuses to board due to an unforeseen number of traps that Avery had set up to frighten off intruders. She instead tries to leave the island with a small amount of the treasure but Rafe forces her to cooperate, having paid off her Shoreline contractors to obey him.
Once aboard, Rafe and Sam's carelessness causes the traps to be set off, wiping out her last remaining soldiers. A desperate and frustrated Nadine then lectures Nate and Rafe on the cost of finding the treasure, using the long deceased bodies of Thomas Tew and Henry Avery as proof. She then traps the three in the burning hold of the ship, taking both of the guns with her, and leaves Libertalia by herself with some parts of Avery's gold. After she leaves, Nate kills Rafe in a sword fight and flees with Sam, destroying the ship and taking some of Avery's gold.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy[]
About six months later, Nadine is seen helping Chloe Frazer fight Asav's insurgents on the rooftop of the Pink Lotus, whilst also telling Frazer that she is late. She also says that she had a street route planned out to secure the disc currently in possession of Asav, but now has to improvise as Chloe's fight has alerted both Asav and his insurgents to their location. They steal the disc then make their escape via the river.
It is revealed that she lost her all her golds and the control of Shoreline from her treacherous lieutenant Orca resulting in her partnering with Chloe Frazer, the two set out to find the Tusk of Ganesh, a mystical artifact located in India. She now works alone, as Shoreline is under her former lieutenant's command. Though in the beginning she called it a "temporary setback," by the end of the game she has renounced all ties to Shoreline.
Before the events of Lost Legacy and A Thief's End, Nadine worked with and had a relationship with Asav in order to establish her reputation. She doesn't outright state if it was of a romantic nature, but she regards it with disgust and regret, and claimed it "proved useful at the time."
Throughout the game it is shown that she and Chloe are getting closer and are opening up to one another. After they find common ground, in that both of their fathers have died, they find out that Asav has Nathan Drake's brother, Samuel Drake. Asav refers to Sam, all throughout the game, calling him his "expert". Frazer then reveals that she had initially been partners with Sam before he went missing and told Chloe to find help. The pair fight but then reunite when they are close to finding the Tusk. After the girls almost drown, they rescue Sam and continue on their mission to retrieve the tusk. They find out that Asav was planning to sell the tusk, to Nadine's former lieutenant Orca in exchange for a bomb. After they take out Orca, they see the blueprints for the bomb and go off to stop the train, that has the bomb. Chloe goes off the change the rail tracks and redirect the train. In their last encounter with Asav, the bomb accidentally drops on his legs, preventing him from escaping before it goes off. Throughout the fight they see that the train is heading for a broken bridge, and escape just in time, before the train blows up. They take a moment and have a talk, joined by Sam as they watch the sunset and spectate the city in astonishment.
In between the credits, there is a scene that features our main characters - Chloe Frazer, Nadine Ross and Samuel Drake - eating pizza with a little girl (seen in the opening scenes of the game) called Meenu. This scene is a reference to the start of the game, where Chloe promises Meenu free pizza if she lets Chloe go to the truck. While this scene plays out, Sam is talking to our two main protagonists about selling the Tusk to a private collector rather than the Ministry of Culture. Both Nadine and Chloe ignore him whilst Meenu stops him and tells him that he ruined the moment, while offering him a slice of pizza. Sam takes it and is quiet reluctantly. The scene fades out, leaving only the music on the radio playing, while the game switches to the longer credits.
It's presumed that, after the finale, she and Chloe officially join up as partners. She also quits being a private military contractor and finally lets go of Shoreline for good.
Characteristics[]
Appearance[]
Nadine has a muscular and toned body due to years of training and combat, tall and black woman, with brown eyes and black afro hair, loose in A Thief's End and tied in The Lost Legacy.
Personality[]
Nadine is cool-headed, sensible, and risk-averse, knowing when to quit while she's ahead but also determined to finish a job. When faced with danger, she usually handles it head-on, as evidenced by her confident willingness to fight Nate and Sam on her own. She's amiable enough toward allies, but her patience wears thin quickly when she doesn't get results. Unlike any mercenary, she does not work for her client; she simply associates to benefit them both.
A demanding leader, she shows fierce loyalty towards her men and expects the same in return. She seems to care for her men, as she scorns Sam and by extension Nate for killing them, and also doesn't want to risk the few she has left when Rafe wishes to board Avery's death trap of a ship. Nevertheless, she does not tolerate treachery in any way, ruthlessly killing multiple Shoreline soldiers and her former second-in-command, Orca for cutting her out of her own company then using it as a black market weapons trade.
When Rafe demands that she tell her men to stop using the dynamite so liberally while in Scotland, she deliberately sidesteps the request and instead tells him that they'll inform him before they "do anything drastic." She believes they've made more progress doing things her way than Rafe's, and her unwillingness to concede with his decisions shows how stubborn she can be. Despite her stubbornness, she is the only villain in the series to know when it's time to stop in term of pursuing obsession. As the result, it makes her the only villain to survive in the end.
She appears to have a soft spot for animals; in Lost Legacy she regards a group of gray langur monkeys with excitement, and readily supplies Chloe with trivial facts about most animals they come across, such as elephants, bats, and flamingos. Her knowledge may come from the site Wikipedia, as she refers to it by name when Chloe mocks her for calling a catapult a trebuchet. Though just as strong and fierce, Nadine shows a more human side, expressing warmth and teasing fondness.
Despite her professional stance and ruthless attitude on a mission, Nadine is not above making personal relationships, even for simple “means to an end” as with Asav (which was only implied to be romantic that ended badly). However, she grew to be quite close friends with Chloe despite a rocky start due to their similar backgrounds of being thrusted into a world because of their fathers and motivations. Also, because of this Nadine grew closer to Sam, even though she originally desired to kill him due to the fact that he and his brother killed a majority of her men in Libertalia and caused her organization to crumble and upon discovering he was working for Asav and her aggressive attitude later but more in a playful and jocular sense. However it should be noted that even prior to this Nadine acknowledged a begrudging respect towards Sam for being able to outsmart her and even believed, that if he could survive Avery's ship, that he deserved the treasure more than Rafe.
Skills[]
Ross is an excellent charismatic leader, military tactics, guerrilla warfare and mercenary, being the former leader of Shoreline beforehand. Ross is just as effective both physically and mentally, both being praised by Asav and Chloe Frazer. She is exceptionally intelligent, thinking fast and acting fast when necessary, although, unlike other mercenaries, she controls her ambition, and Frazer tells her that she learns fast, being a good treasure hunter.
Ross is also a highly qualified sniper. She is an accomplished, effective, and dangerous martial artist who excels in hand to hand combat, easily being able to hold her own against both Nate and Sam at once, both of whom are significantly bulkier than her in appearance, and other opponents efficiently. However, in the final battle of The Lost Legacy and during the game, she is nearly overpowered by Asav, the main villain of the game.
Weapons[]
Nadine carries a fictional two tone hybrid of a Heckler & Koch USP and a Glock 17. For all intents and purposes, it is simply a Gen 3 Glock 17 frame fitted with a USP slide and hammer. In the multiplayer of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, this pistol is named the EnforcerG26. She also uses it in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.
Behind the scenes[]
Nadine Ross has become a topic of controversy after the reveal that Laura Bailey, a white actress, would be portraying a racially-mixed black character. Neil Druckmann defended Bailey's casting, stating that a character's appearance should not be influenced from the actor and citing Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker as examples of actors who share no resemblance to their respective characters. Bailey herself declared that she was not made aware of Nadine's ethnicity until after she had been cast for the role.