Dem zombie-killin’ kids
Capcom’s smash-selling release Resident Evil 4 sees players reunited with one of the franchise’s best-remembered pairings, that of D.S.O. officer Leon S. Kennedy and no less than the daughter of the President of the United States, Ashley Graham. The two characters are thrown together in a terrifying odyssey of undead monsters, infected cult members, and impromptu trips to Bingo.
It seems that, for reasons of lore of otherwise, fans are interested in knowing the ages of these two heroes. It’s a tough question, as generally, media needs to keep its character in a state of arrested development — generally to avoid clashes in lore and timeline. It’s a problem faced by long-running TV series such as The Simpsons, as well as in decades-long comic book series from publishers such as Marvel and DC. But we can still take a look at this analytically, and find something of the truth.
Leon S. Kennedy’s canonical year of birth is 1977. This would make him 21-years-old at the time of his debut in Resident Evil 2 (which is set in 1998) and, by proxy, would see him aged 27 in 2004, the year of Resident Evil 4, both the original release, and the 2023 remake. 27 years old and already top security to the Commander-in-Chief, not a bad ride for our boy Leon. He’s gonna have a hell of a pension.
The age of Leon’s charge, Ashley Graham, is far simpler to divulge. Canonically born in 1984, this makes her aged 20 as of the events of Resident Evil 4. This is somewhat surprising, as the character appears to act much younger, with the personality (and voice) of a teenager. In headcanon, we could potentially put this down to her sheltered life as the President’s daughter, which has likely kept the weight of the world from crushing her delicate spirit. That didn’t last. Regardless, Ashley being only seven years younger than Leon is definitely a bit of a surprise.
So, in summary: In Resident Evil 4, Leon Kennedy is 27 and Ashley Graham is 20.
