Nicola Coughlan.Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
Nicola Coughlan, the 33-year-oldBridgertonbreakout star, has made quite a splash about thetonas the sweet and unassumingPenelope Featherington. Learn more about the Irish actress below!
Here’s where you’ve seen her before:
Bridgertonisn’t Coughlan’s first time lacing up a corset for a role. The actress played Hannah Dalton inHarlots— which ended after three seasons, but you cango binge on Hulu.
Hulu
Coughlan currently plays the fast-talking, anxiety-riddled Clare Devlin inDerry Girls,which is currently awaiting production of its fourth season. You canwatch the first three on Netflix.
Courtesy Netflix
She’s from Galway, Ireland.
She has joked, “I’m definitely a Galway girl. I sometimes lie and tell people that Ed Sheeran wrote the song [“Galway Girl”] about me and sometimes they believe me and then it gets really awkward.”
So thatDerry Girlsaccent didn’t come naturally — but it did come hilariously.
She studied acting.
Coughlan is a trained actress! She studied at The Oxford School of Drama and Birmingham School of Acting. On top of her theatre education, theBridgertonstar studied English and Classical Civilization at the National University of Ireland in her hometown of Galway.
Yes, she knows that she looks young.
She isn’t a natural redhead.
While her character on the hit Netflix show has curly red hair, Coughlan is a blonde. She shared on Twitter, “I didn’t realise people thought this was my real hair, to the extent that a driver on set once saw me without it 4 months into filming and asked me if it was my first day on the job.”
The decidedly-not-her-hair wig also has an A-list legacy: Coughlan revealed on Twitter that her wig block was formerly used for an Oscar-winning Aussie! “The wig block I used was the one used for Margot Robbie inMary Queen of Scotsand I found it weirdly satisfying that Margot and I have the same size head,” Coughlan quipped on Twitter.
If you haven’t figured it out, she’s a must-follow on social media.
Both relatable and self deprecating, Coughlan has agreatTwitter andInstagrampresence. I present to you, a smattering of her Very Good Content:
She’s should be crowned the Queen of Behind-the-Scenes Photos.
Coughlan not only shares amazing transformation videos from her hair and makeup trailer but alsoadorable shots of herBridgerton,HarlotsandDerry Girlscastmates when the cameras aren’t rolling.
Like this one of her"play fighting"in Catholic school uniforms withDerry Girls' Dylan John Llewellyn.
Or thissweet selfiefor all of the Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton — AKA Polin — shippers out there.
Or thisgiggle-festwithonscreen BFFClaudia Jesse, who Coughlan loves “so much IRL I can’t even tell you.”
Or thisblack-and-white snapof her with herfellowHarlots.
She’s totally relatable.
The rising star toldElleof her first encounter with show-runner Shonda Rhimes, “I really held her hands like Oprah does to people. I had never done that to anyone in my life. There was a voice in my head that kept saying,Let go of Shonda Rhimes. This is weird. But she couldn’t have been more gracious and lovely.”
Honestly, we would probably react the same way.
She’s an outspoken activist and ally.
NIKLAS HALLE’N/AFP via Getty Images
Coughlan has always been outspoken. The actress toldThe Guardianthat, in 2015, she went door-to-door in an effort to get people to vote “Yes” on Ireland’s equal-marriage referendum. She is also an advocate for women’s reproductive rights, marching in a protest calling for change to Northern Ireland’s laws in 2018.
Her Instagram — which we already know is great — is also full of resources and information for her followers on everything from theBlack Lives Mattermovement toHIV infographics.
She once called out critics for focusing on her body and not her looks.
In an essay written forThe Guardianentitled’Critics, Judge Me for My Work inDerry Girlsand on the Stage, Not on My Body,‘Coughlan called out a critic who, on two separate occasions, called her “fat” in a review rather than focusing on her performance.
She wrote at the time, “I know I’m not alone; women in my industry are put under constant scrutiny for their looks. It affects male actors as well — I had messages from them — but the vast majority of feedback was from women. Something in our society tells us that women’s bodies are fair game for scrutiny in a way that men’s simply are not.”
The star has also spoken out about criticism of her clothing and appearance in publications, even auctioning off a dress one called “not the most flattering” to benefit the Ireland Children’s Hospice.
But she doesn’t consider herself to be a ‘body positivity activist.’
Coughlan toldRefinery29that, though people often insinuate that she is a body positivity activist, she is not. Instead, she prefers to focus on using her body for her acting.
“I know people mean it in the nicest way possible, but I always say to them, ‘I am not a body positivity activist,'” sheRefinery29. “‘There are so many incredible people who are, and I admire them and think they’re wonderful, but that’s not my focus. I’m an actor. That’s the bottom line for me.’ If I was playing a ballerina or an Olympic gymnast, I may have to lose a bunch of weight. If I’m playing a sumo wrestler, I may have to gain a load of weight. If it’s relevant in the script, then it’s relevant to me.”
She recently appeared on the U.K. gameshowTaskmaster:
And tried her best at theGreat British Baking Showwith herDerry Girlscostars in December 2019.
Even if she had a tiny meltdown and wrapped herself in a blanket like this:
Channel 4
OrRuPaul’s Drag Race, which she loved so much, she attended the finale of the UK series in November 2019.
She’s besties with Jonathan Van Ness.
As if we weren’t jealous enough of her style and talent, Coughlan is also besties with none other thanQueer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness. The actress was Van Ness’s date to the Elton John’s Oscar Party in 2020 and he even visited her on set ofBridgerton. “Category is: Bring your cutie pie love dove friend to work day,” Coughlanwrote of the visit.
“I love you so, so much, from the moment I met you I felt like I’d known you my whole life and I’m so blessed to call you my friend ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️,” Coughlanwrote on Instagramin March 2020 in honor of Van Ness’ birthday.
Coughlan even got to brag thatshe knew about Van Ness’ secret weddingfrom over the summer.
We’re not sure what’s next for Coughlan, but whatever it is, we’re sure Lady Whistledown will keep us posted.
source: people.com
