--- description: In past interviews, Van Houten has suggested that her character is well over 100 years old and could be as much as 400 years old. title: Unraveling the Mystery of Melisandre's True Age on Game of Thrones image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt286a0094e67567fb/69889085ab6d77a1cf6a9696/carice-van-houten-game-of-thrones-melisandre.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Unraveling the Mystery of Melisandre's True Age on _Game of Thrones_  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Apr 25, 2016 6:28 PM CUT  Carice van Houten as Melisandre in Game of Thrones, Season 6. Carice van Houten as Melisandre in Game of Thrones, Season 6.HBO  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Apr 25, 2016 6:28 PM CUT Sunday’s season six premiere of [_Game of Thrones_](http://time.com/4289801/game-of-thrones-death-quiz/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined")had nothing to do with the [resurrection of Jon Snow](http://time.com/4299666/game-of-thrones-computer-algorithm-death/?iid=sr-link4 "undefined"), but fans had another twist to [buzz about](http://time.com/4306121/twitter-melisandres-game-of-thrones/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"): Melisandre’s age. After removing the apparently magical necklace she has worn in almost every scene since we first saw her in season two, the [Red Woman](http://time.com/4285856/game-of-thrones-season-6-premiere-synopsis/ "undefined") appeared in her true form — a much older version of 39-year-old actress Carice Van Houten. In past interviews, Van Houten has suggested that her character is well over 100 years old and could be as much as 400 years old, [according to _Entertainment Weekly_](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/25/game-thrones-melisandre-premiere "undefined"). However this is the first time viewers have seen the physical incarnation of her age. _G.o.T._ director Jeremy Podeswa spoke about the reveal in a recent interview with _EW_. “The idea is there’s an indefinite indeterminate quality that she could be ancient,” he said. “We were limited by choosing to use a real person rather than a complete CG creation. Because what does a 400-year-old person look like? We don’t know. So if you try to create that, then you’re creating something that looks beyond our known reality. Here you feel like she’s very old without putting a number on it.” **Read More:** [Review: _Game of Thrones_ Gets Off to a Subdued Start](http://time.com/4306039/review-game-of-thrones-season-premiere/ "undefined") However, there is one other instance in which Melisandre appears sans necklace. Back in the seventh episode of season four, viewers saw the character taking a bath while having a conversation with Stannis’s wife Selyse. While some are now considering this sequence to be a gaffe on the showrunners’ part, others are theorizing that it was a hint at what was to come. > [](https://twitter.com/march/status/724419027255185408) One such fan, Reddit user brashendeavors, even made this prediction over a year ago. “The only person to see her like this is Stannis wife Selyse,” [the Redditor wrote](https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/2a7go9/spoliers%5Facok%5Fregarding%5Fmelisandres%5Fruby%5Fnecklace/cisasro "undefined"). “Selyse has this strange expression the entire time. Like she cannot look directly at Melisandre yet also cannot look away. At first you think it is that of a religious ‘uptight’ person seeing a naked and very sexual woman. But if you [rewatch the scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU1r03wst%5F8 "undefined"), and ‘pretend’ to yourself that Selyse is seeing Melisandre as she actually appears, it actually fits better. WE still see the seductress, Selyse sees the _hag_. She is horrified yet fascinated and not at all shocked. _She knew all along_ (just like she knows the true fate of her daughter), Melisandre explains she does not need to use her ‘tricks’ on the true convert (Stannis is NOT a true convert but his wife is).” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4306654/melisandre-old-age-game-of-thrones/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4306654/melisandre-old-age-game-of-thrones/"},"headline":"Unraveling the Mystery of Melisandre's True Age on Game of Thrones","datePublished":"2016-04-25T18:28:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:31:49.933Z","description":"Season six spoilers ahead!","url":"https://time.com/4306654/melisandre-old-age-game-of-thrones/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","game of thrones","TV"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt286a0094e67567fb/69889085ab6d77a1cf6a9696/carice-van-houten-game-of-thrones-melisandre.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt286a0094e67567fb/69889085ab6d77a1cf6a9696/carice-van-houten-game-of-thrones-melisandre.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Carice-van-Houten-game-of-thrones-Melisandre","caption":"Carice van Houten as Melisandre in Game of Thrones, Season 6.","creditText":"HBO","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4306654/melisandre-old-age-game-of-thrones/","name":"Unraveling the Mystery of Melisandre's True Age on Game of Thrones"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Unsolicited Financial Advice for the Lannisters","description":"The House of Lannister on Game of Thrones needs some financial advice. 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