Simone Ashley
Simone Ashley | |
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File:SIMONEASHLEY.jpg | |
Born | Simone Ashwini Pillai 30 March 1995[1][2] Camberley, Surrey, England |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2016–present |
Simone Ashwini Pillai (born 30 March 1995), known professionally as Simone Ashley, is a British-Indian actress. She is best known for her roles in the Netflix series Sex Education (2019–present) and Bridgerton (2022–present).
Early life and education
Born to Indian Tamil parents Latha and Gunasekharan, Ashley is from Camberley, Surrey and has an older brother.[3][4] Ashley has spoken about how despite growing up in a household of academics, she was always drawn more towards the creative fields.[5] Ashley grew up singing classical music and opera and playing piano.[6] The family later moved to Beaconsfield whilst Ashley attended Redroofs Theatre School in Maidenhead for sixth form.[7][5] She went on to train in acting at Arts Educational School in London.[1][8]
Career
Ashley made her feature film debut in 2018 with a small role in Boogie Man as Aarti and a prominent role in Kill Ben Lyk as one of the characters named Ben Lyk.[9] In 2019, Ashley began playing Olivia Hanan, a member of Ruby Matthews' clique the Untouchables, in the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education, a role she would reprise in its second and third series. She appeared in the ITV psychological thriller miniseries The Sister as Elise Fox.[10]
Having auditioned in 2020, it was announced in February 2021 that Ashley would star as leading lady Kate opposite Jonathan Bailey as Anthony in the second season of the Netflix romance period drama Bridgerton.[11] She will appear in the 2023 live-action film adaptation of Disney's The Little Mermaid in an undisclosed role.[12]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Straight Outta Compton | ||
2018 | Boogie Man | Aarti | |
2018 | Kill Ben Lyk | Girl Ben Lyk | |
2018 | Sparrow | Taylor | Short film |
2019 | Detective Pikachu | Girlfriend | |
TBA | Bulldog | Lori | Short film; voice role |
2023 | The Little Mermaid | TBA | Post-production |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Wolfblood | Zuhra | 2 episodes |
2016 | Guilt | Amanda | Episode: "A Simple Plan" |
2017 | Broadchurch | Dana | 2 episodes |
2017 | Strike | Alicia | Episode: "The Cuckoo's Calling: Part 3" |
2017 | L'ispettore Coliandro | Veena | Episode: "Mortal Club" |
2018 | Doctors | Sofia Johal | Episode: "Any Moment" |
2019 | Casualty | Shai Anderson | 1 episode |
2019 | A Working Mom's Nightmare | Aisha | Television film |
2019–2021 | Sex Education | Olivia Hanan | 15 episodes |
2020 | The Sister | Elise Fox | Miniseries; 3 episodes |
2022 | Bridgerton | Kathani “Kate” Sharma later Kathani, Viscountess Bridgerton | Main role (season 2) |
2022 | The Crazy and the Good | The Beautiful | Extra (hidden character) |
References
- ^ a b Wahi, Sukriti (16 February 2021). "Who Is Simone Ashley? Meet Bridgerton's New Leading Lady". Elle Australia. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^ Tisdale, Jerrica (25 February 2021). "Simone Ashley: 7 Cool Things To Know About The Bridgerton Season 2 Actress". CinemaBlend. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ Glass, Katie (9 March 2022). "Bridgerton's Simone Ashley on corsets, combatting sexism and the power of representation". Glamour UK. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ Menon, Maya (2 March 2022). "Meet Simone Ashley: the British-Indian breakout star and new leading lady of 'Bridgerton'". Vogue Singapore. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Exclusive Q&A with Simone Ashley of "Sex Education" (Netflix)". Veylex. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^ "Variety's 10 Brits to Watch for 2021: A Celebration of Talent". Variety. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ Simpson, Richard (27 February 2021). "Sex Education star set to shake up Bridgerton in steamy new series". Mirror. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ Hanrahan, Laura (18 February 2021). "Everything You Need To Know About 'Bridgerton' Season 2 Star Simone Ashley". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^ Fowler, Sara (25 June 2019). "Britain's Simone Ashley stars in award-winning film 'Kill Ben Lyk'". Medium. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^ Sanyal, Pathikrit (20 January 2020). "'The Sister' on Hulu: Meet Simone Ashley, Bertie Carvel, Russell Tovey and rest of the cast of British psychological thriller". MEAWW. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (15 February 2021). "'Bridgerton': Simone Ashley Lands Female Lead In Season 2 Of Netflix Hit From Shondaland". Deadline. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^ Russell, Scarlett (25 March 2022). "Bridgerton's Simone Ashley: 'All the fireworks are still to come'". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
External links
- Living people
- 1995 births
- 21st-century English actresses
- British actresses of Indian descent
- Actresses from Buckinghamshire
- Actresses from Surrey
- English people of Indian Tamil descent
- People educated at Redroofs Theatre School
- People educated at the Arts Educational Schools
- People from Beaconsfield
- People from Camberley