Bridgerton season 2: Who is Simone Ashley? Who does she play in season 2?
The Bridgerton season 1 finale left us all with the question: What’s next for Anthony Bridgerton?
Last we saw him, he had been forced to let go of Siena and had decided to pursue an arranged marriage.
Netflix’s announcement of the casting of Bridgerton season 2’s leading lady, Simone Ashley, brings us the answer.
Below, we shared everything you need to know about Simone Ashley, her character in Bridgerton season 2, and more.
Who is Simone Ashley?
Bridgerton, already lauded for its diverse casting, cast its first South Asian in the series, and in a lead role, no less.
A British actress with an Indian background rooted in Tamil heritage, Simone Ashley is 25 years old and an alum of the prestigious ArtsEd School in the Cheswick area of London. A very pleasant coincidence is that Julie Andrews, who voices Lady Whistledown on Bridgerton, is an alumna of the very same school!
Simone has been very vocal on the struggles of being a woman of color in the industry and has been candid about the struggles she faced as an actor.
In an interview with Veylex, she said:
"“Yes, colorism is an ongoing issue. As is 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*** that!”"
If you have seen Sex Education, you almost definitely know her as one of the main characters – Olivia Hanan, member of the popular group of students at Moordale High, The Untouchables. She has also appeared on Broadchurch and in the feature film, Pokemon Detective Pikachu.
The vivacious actress is all set to play the role of Kate Sheffield. She is expected to join the cast in London this spring to start shooting.
Who is Kate in Bridgerton season 2?
Kate Sheffield is the female lead of The Viscount Who Loved Me, which is second in the series of books on the Bridgerton siblings written by Julia Quinn, on which the series is based. So, it can be said with utmost confidence, that Kate is extremely important to the Bridgerton saga.
While her name is Kate Sheffield in the books, Simone Ashley will be playing Kate Sharma. The name was changed to pay homage to her Indian descent, and Kate Sharma will be depicted as a new arrival to London from India, according to Deadline. It will be interesting to see whether historical context will be taken into consideration when her character is introduced, as in the 1800s, India was a British Colony.
In the book, Anthony arranges for himself to court the young Edwina Sheffield, Kate Sheffield’s younger sister because, in his perception, she’d make the perfect viscountess in all the ways prescribed by the elites.
Kate is a tenacious and protective older sister and, naturally, disapproves. Owing to Anthony’s considerably notorious reputation as a “rake,” she is determined to keep her younger sister far away from him.
As Netflix describes her character, she is “a smart, headstrong young woman who suffers no fools — Anthony Bridgerton very much included.”
She’s clearly not going to be putting up with Anthony’s attitude, and if that’s any indication, the next season should be an interesting watch that fulfills the enemies to lovers’ trope.
The second season will possibly see them grappling with the complications that this premise would clearly cause them, and how – if at all – they can overcome it to find their happy ending, especially with Lady Whistledown on the prowl for all that goes on behind the closed doors of the people of the ton.
Stay tuned for more news about Bridgerton season 2!