Who Is Simone Ashley? All You Should Know About The Bridgerton 2 Lead

Who Is Simone Ashley: Actor Simone Ashley is having a breathless September. The 25-year-old actor features in Sex Education season 3, which was released last week, and now the buzz is growing about her upcoming appearance in the very popular period drama Bridgerton. In February this year, the makers of this hit Netflix show had announced that Ashley would be joining the cast as a lead for its second season. She will be essaying the role of Kate Sharma- to be paired opposite Anthony Bridgerton (essayed by Jonathan Bailey). On Monday, the first look of the entire Sharma clan was unveiled by the show's makers.

It is said that Simone's casting as Kate was approved by author Julia Quinn herself, on whose books the series Bridgerton is based. The second season of the show is based on Quinn's book The Viscount Who Loved Me. Kate's character has been described as a headstrong young woman, who is a new arrival in London and "who sufferers no fools."

Calling all Bridgerton fans, The Sharma Family has officially arrived thanks to these brand new photos from Season 2 pic.twitter.com/HTswqcFE5X

— Netflix (@netflix) September 27, 2021

Since Ashley was part of the peripheral cast in Sex Education, with its story chiefly focussing on Otis, Maeve, Eric, Adam and Jean, Bridgerton is a great opportunity for her to feature as a lead in an immensely popular show. And the opportunity already seems to be paying off as there is a growing curiosity about who is Simone Ashley among viewers.

So here's what we know about this young British actor with Indian roots:

1. Born in 1995, Simone Ashley comes from a British-Indian family with a Tamil heritage.

2. Ashley's family still finds her choice of profession "scary and unsettling." In an interview with Veylex, Ashley said, "My parents are incredibly protective over me, and sometimes I found it quite stifling. It made me want to escape and do things my own way."

3. Ashley learned acting from the ArtsEd School in Chiswick, in West London.

4. In 2016, Ashley made her debut with the show Wolfblood.

5. She has starred in various British shows like Broadchurch and CB Strike. She has also appeared in films like Pokemon Detective Pikachu, Boogie Man and Sparrow.

6. Simone Ashley has addressed the issue of colourism time and again, faced by actors of colour in the West. In the above-mentioned interview, Ashley said that colourism does exist, but so does being typecast, being looked over because of the color of your skin, losing roles to girls that are more ‘relatable’ to target audiences and markets. "But if I surrender to all that, where would I be going? No where! F**ck that," she added.

7. In Bridgerton 2, actor Charithra Chandran will be essaying the role of Kate's younger sister Edwina.

8. The show's first instalment received 12 Emmy nominations, winning in the outstanding period and character hairstyling category.

9. According to Netflix, Bridgerton's first season was viewed by as many as 82 million people.

10. Writer-producer and actor Mindy Kaling had called Ashley's casting as Kate Sharma "absolute coolest. She added in her tweet, "Didn’t think I could be more excited for next season."

Image Credit: Entertainment Weekly

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