Aerith Gainsborough (エアリス・ゲインズブール, Earisu Geinzubūru?) — spelled Aeris Gainsborough in the English releases of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy Tactics — is a player character in Square's (now Square Enix) role-playing video game Final Fantasy VII. She was designed by Tetsuya Nomura with influence from Yoshinori Kitase, Hironobu Sakaguchi and Yoshitaka Amano.
In Final Fantasy VII, Aerith is a 22-year-old woman who joins the eco-terrorist organization AVALANCHE. As the story progresses, AVALANCHE begin to pursue the game's antagonist Sephiroth, and the player learns that Aerith is the last surviving Cetra, or "Ancient", one of the planet's oldest races. Aerith has also appeared in the later-released Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts series.
Her voice actors are Maaya Sakamoto in Japanese, singer and actress Mandy Moore in the English version of Kingdom Hearts, actress Mena Suvari in the English versions of Kingdom Hearts II and Advent Children, and actress Andrea Bowen in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Aerith and the events surrounding her death in Final Fantasy VII have met with an overall positive reception from critics and fans.
Read more about Aerith Gainsborough: Concept and Creation, Musical Theme, Reception