- Simone Ashley, 26, stars as Kate Sharma in the second season of Netflix's hit series Bridgerton.
- But it's likely you've seen Simone before. She's been acting since a young age—a career choice that made her parents wary.
- She recently revealed that she gave herself a tattoo during quarantine.
Bridgerton season two dropped on Friday—and the latest episodes are promising plenty of gossip, drama, and intrigue, courtesy of Lady Whistledown. The new season follows Daphne Bridgerton's older brother, Anthony, as he attempts to navigate the Regency dating pool.
It's no easy task, and for Anthony, finding a bride is even more complicated than he expects. Once Anthony finally settles on his ideal match, he first must charm her older sister, Kate Sharma (originally named Kate Sheffield in Julia Quinn's Bridgerton books).
Kate is played by 26-year-old Simone Ashley—and if she looks familiar, it's probably because you've seen her on your screen before. Curious about Simone? Here's everything to know about Bridgerton's newest leading lady, from her past roles to her parents:
Simone is from Surrey, England.
Simone was born in Camberley, Surrey, England, to parents Latha and Gunasekharan. She attended the ArtsEd school in Chiswick to develop her acting skills, per Elle Australia.
"I was the only non-academic in my family," Simone told Vogue. "Music, film, photography and art were my fortes." But she also found a love for entertainment at home. "Growing up, the record player was always playing rock n roll tunes, or Bob Marley, and the TV always had epic movies on, like Kill Bill," she shared with Veylex. "My mother would always play Phil Collins, too."
And, her musical talents ranged from singing Italian opera to playing piano, according to Variety. Simone was also a huge musical theater fan: "I grew up singing quite a lot and studied a lot of classical music, and then that kind of led into musical theater and I fell in love with musicals," she told People.
Simone also explained that her parents, while supportive, weren't always thrilled by her dreams of becoming an actress.
"They still find it quite scary and unsettling. There is no crystal ball, no security, no guarantee. Which can be a parent's worst nightmare," she said. "But they know I'm a smart lady. You can't spend your life going with what your parents want, or your friends, teachers, lovers, want."
She gave herself a pandemic tattoo.
Simone went on Jimmy Kimmel Live! recently and revealed a secret skill: tattooing.
Simone recalled being bored at home in Los Angeles during the early stages of the pandemic. She tried the usual routines: baking bread, tye-dying, TikTok-ing, before moving on to something a bit more challenging: tattoo art.
"I thought it would be a good idea to get my own tattoo pen," she said, adding that it was surprisingly easy to purchase. Noted! Since she was still stuck in the house, Simone had to resort to the internet for advice on her latest artistic endeavor. So she did what any sensible gal would, and searched “how to do a tattoo at home” on YouTube.
Simone found plenty of advice, including one particularly thorough video using a stick of deodorant to cause a chemical reaction on the transfer paper, as well as some other unique and innovative tools.
When Simone saw the video poster's username was “PrisonTatoo.com,” it all made a lot more sense.
"I looked at his videos and I was like, 'Wow, there's an inmate making videos in prison.' This is a great idea!"
Simone drew an Egyptian sphinx cat on her left ankle. Considering that she is left-handed, this is an impressive feat! Jimmy did think it was a dog, but alas, it could be much worse. And, she even got Jimmy Kimmel to promise that she could do any tattoos on him, should he decide to get inked.
She's outdoorsy and adores adventure.
Simone says she loved traveling all over England to film Bridgerton, and she can't wait for the opportunity to plan her own trip somewhere far away.
"I'm a big nature person. I love to swim. I love hikes, going to the beach, eating really good food," she told Condé Nast Traveler. "For me, a perfect vacation would be exhausting myself playing in the sand, swimming, hiking, exploring, and then treating myself to an absolutely massive meal and some really nice wine with friends and good music."
"I'm trying to be a bit more cultured and push myself to do more city-searching and going to exhibitions and all of that," she added. "But at heart, I'm a big explorer."
Simone has starred in many television shows before Bridgerton.
Simone is best known for playing Olivia Hanan in Sex Education seasons one through three. "Sex Education was really life-changing. I’m so grateful for that show," she told Vogue. "I learnt so much in my craft and as a person. It was such a joy."
She's also starred in Broadchurch, Wolfblood, and Pokémon Detective Pikachu, according to her IMDb. She even had an uncredited role in the movie Straight Outta Compton, Variety reported.
She's passionate about addressing colorism in the industry.
Simone has spoken out about colorism in the entertainment industry many times, saying, "The more we let in, the more we can understand and be proactive. Being proactive is helping. Donate, sign petitions, protest, speak up," per Harper's Bazaar India.
"I try to be as positive as I can day to day, and I've tried to channel that into how I approached the industry. Yes, colorism is an ongoing issue. As is being type cast, being looked over because of the color of your skin, losing roles to girls that are more 'relatable' to target audiences and markets," she added, per Veylex.
"But if I surrender to all of that, where would I be going? Nowhere! F*ck that."
And, she loves a good playlist.
Music is also important to Simone. "I listen to everything and anything! But I grew up listening to a lot of rock n roll, that's due to my father. Fleetwood Mac have always been my number one. The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Steely Dan," she told Veylex.
"I still listen to the same rock artists, but now I'm discovering more genres like Trip Hop, I've been listening to Morcheeba on repeat. I love Alicia Keys, Nina Simone, Rihanna, Maggie Rogers. The list goes on and on."
Once Simone auditioned for Bridgerton, the process moved fast.
"It kind of all happened incredibly quickly," Simone explained. Right after season one dropped, season two was already in production.
"Season one came out on Christmas day in 2020, and they were already casting for season two immediately. I got a few messages to put myself on tape and then, as the days went on, I met with Jonathan Bailey and we had our chemistry read. I later got a call saying that I got the role," she told Vogue.
On her part, Bridgerton book series author, Julia Quinn, was over the moon when Simone was cast as Kate: "WE HAVE OUR KATE!!!!!" she wrote on Instagram. "Welcome to #Bridgerton, @simoneasshley! I couldn’t dream of a more perfect Kate. I mean, just LOOK at her expression in that first photo!"
Read The 'Bridgerton' Book Series
Julia Quinn An Offer From a Gentleman (Book #3)
Julia Quinn Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Book #4)
Julia Quinn It's In His Kiss (Book #7)
On the Way to the Wedding (Book #8)
She built a special connection with one of her co-stars on set.
Simone's character Kate is devoted to her corgi, Newton—and Simone said, as a dog lover herself, it was easy to connect with the pup who plays the Sharma's beloved pooch.
"I'm really good with dogs, so he responded to me well," she told Entertainment Weekly. "He was a little bit sass and goes off and does his own thing, but I like to think when we were together, he listened to me. Whenever we would do a line run and Newton was there, he would just get in the middle of the circle and roll on his back and be like, 'Hey, what's up?' That was quite cute."
In some ways, Simone thinks she's similar to Kate.
Simone and her Bridgerton character are more alike than not, she said: "Kate’s a go-getter. She will speed right ahead, but she’s also smart and admirably strategic. I’d like to think I can be like that as well."
But training to play Kate wasn't easy. "It was such a physical process getting into her mindset as she’s incredibly fierce, sporty, competitive and brave. To represent that I had to put it into action," Simone said. "I was in horse-riding training a lot, which was so much fun."
And, those stunning costumes have some serious drawbacks. "On my first day, I was like, 'OK, first day as a leading lady, got to eat lots of food, be really energized,'" Simone told Glamour UK. "So, I had this massive portion of salmon and that’s when I needed to be sick, basically because I was wearing the corset."
"I realized when you wear the corset, you just don’t eat. It changes your body. I had a smaller waist very momentarily. Then the minute you stop wearing it, you’re just back to how your body is. I had a lot of pain with the corset, too. I think I tore my shoulder at one point!" (Ouch.)
Catch Simone as Kate Sharma in Bridgerton season two, which debuted on Netflix on March 25.
