If you are a fan of watching series, you must have watched or heard about Netflix’s popular show Bridgerton, right? Needless to say, here, Simone Ashley won our hearts as Kathani “Kate” Sharma. In fact, she is playing the lead role in the second season as well, where she struggles with pain and heartbreak in love with a man who plans to marry her half-sister, Edwina. Well, that is indeed quite disheartening for her!
However, the British actor knows a thing about dealing with challenging relationships. She recently had a break-up with her long-time boyfriend, and it also helped her join this critically-acclaimed series. So indeed, Kate is a perfect role for her. This role has also helped her gain widespread recognition all over the world and become a common household name.
So would you like to know more about Simone Ashley’s life and how she gained such immense popularity? Stay with us until the end as we will share all the relevant details about the young celebrity’s life here.
Who is Simone Ashley?
Since you are reading this article, it is evident that you are eager to know about the British actress Simone Ashley. Well, you are at the right place as we will share with you some of the interesting details about the pretty celebrity here. Simone Ashwini Pillai, or Simone Ashley, was born on 30th March 1995 in Camberley, Surrey, England. Therefore, she is 27 years old currently.
As you can understand from her name, she was born to Indian Tamil parents Latha and Gunasekharan Pillai. However, she hails from Camberley, Surrey, and has an older brother. Simone has also spoken about how despite growing up in a house of academics, she always dreamt of moving toward creative fields.
Moreover, her parents were hesitant, to a certain extent as well, about her inclination to the arts. She says, “My parents were quite protective over me in an interview.” Her parents’ first generation came from India to Britain a long time back. Therefore, they never had a life where they could choose to do whatever they wanted. At the same time, Ashley grew up singing classical music and opera and playing the piano.
In fact, Ashley spent some of her teen years in California as she has relatives there. However, later the family moved to Beaconsfield while Ashley attended Redroofs Theatre School in Maidenhead for the sixth form. Moreover, she also trained her acting skills at Arts Educational School in West London. She began her acting career in 2016. Her first acting role was in two episodes of the fantasy drama, Wolfblood as Zuhra. However, her breakthrough was in 2019 in the Netflix comedy-drama “Sex Education.”
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Some Significant Aspects About Bridgerton
As you know, Bridgerton is an American historical-romance television series that is based on Julia Quinn’s collection of novels. Chris Van Dusen was the creator, and Shondaland was the producer. The show revolves around the eponymous Bridgerton family. It is set in the competitive world of Regency era London during the social season where marriageable age children of noble families and gentry are launched into society.
Bridgerton Season 2 is the most watched English-language television series on Netflix, with 656.16 million hours in its first 28 days of release. Moreover, it premiered on March 25, 2022, with generally positive reviews and debited number one in 92 countries on the platform. At the same time, it was also on the top of the charts on United States television screens for three weeks per Nielsen Media Research.
Simone Ashley’s Appearance in The Second Season of “Bridgerton”
Simone Ashley’s first role was in the 2015 film Straight Outta Compton. Here she was a background player. In fact, according to IMDb, her first role was the following year in the series Wolfblood. Finally, her role as Olivia Hanan in the popular Netflix original series Sex Education in 2019 became very popular.
However, there is no doubt that her role in the second season of Bridgerton catapulted Ashley’s career into international stardom. In fact, her stunning beauty and brave nature helped her gain 2.8 million Instagram followers. Pretty amazing, right?
In fact, viewers are also in awe of Ashley’s portrayal of a woman who arrives from Bombay, India, to take on the social scene of high-class society in London. She hopes to find her half-sister a husband, instead falls in love and becomes involved in a torrid affair. This leaves the audience gaping and breathless.
The makers are also praising Ashley’s performance on the show. Chris Van Dusen said, “Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma is a force reckoned with.” So you can well understand that Ashley has already started winning the hearts of several celebrities with her acting skills.
Ashley Turned Her Pain Into A Critically-Acclaimed Role on Bridgerton
According to media sources, Ashley opened up in an interview about her battle with mental health issues and career challenges. In fact, she also had a breakup that led her to achieve this role as Kate Sharma in Bridgerton. Moreover, the young celebrity also revealed that she went through a breakup from 2019 to 2020. This was just before she got a role in Bridgerton.
Therefore, she was too hard on herself and did not take care of herself. She also felt like running away from sitting with hard feelings. So she shifted from that and put up a wall all around her to accept the changes in her life.
Moreover, Ashley, who prefers to think of herself as fearless, also admitted that it was indeed difficult for her to handle the breakup. However, she soon found a way to channel her emotions and focus on her career instead of brooding over the past.
In fact, being cast as Kate in Bridgerton also brought several changes in her life, especially the way she felt about herself. Therefore, the actor said, “I wouldn’t want anything to stop me from achieving my dreams or being good at my job. I’ve worked so hard up until this moment.” There is good news for the fans as she will soon reprise her role as Kate Sharma in the Season 3 of the show.
Ending Note
So as we conclude, we can say Simone Ashley is one of those young celebrities who are full of talents inside them. Presently she is at the peak of her career. With Bridgerton, she is sure to achieve a lot more. We are all eagerly waiting to watch our favorite Kate Sharma romancing her Prince Charming Jonathan Bailey in Season 3.
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