Aimee Lou Wood has become the woman of the moment after soaring into the spotlight with her starring role in the third series of The White Lotus.
While Aimee, 31, previously starred in Sex Education and nabbed roles in BBC and Netflix series, her stint on the smash hit HBO show has seen her garner global attention.
She has even been tipped as Hollywood’s next golden girl after making her own unique mark on the film industry, proving to be quite the breath of fresh air for fans.
But she is not born-and-bred Hollywood royalty, having been raised miles away from the glitz and glamour of star-studded red carpets by working class parents in Manchester.
Aimee never expected to find fame as an actress because she was bullied by her ‘posh’ classmates for her Stockport accent and teased about her ‘Bugs Bunny’ teeth, leaving her feel like she wasn’t ‘conventional-looking’ enough to nab roles.
And she has defiantly kept hold of her roots, admitting she didn’t know how to be around Hollywood stars and revealing why she feels ‘rebellious’ for refusing to get Botox or veneers.
Aimee Lou Wood has become the woman of the moment after soaring into the spotlight with her starring role in the third series of The White Lotus
But she is not born-and-bred Hollywood royalty, having been raised miles away from the glitz and glamour of star-studded red carpets by working class parents in Manchester
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Aimee shared: ‘These people live in Hollywood. I live in my little flat in South East London.
‘I’m so British in my sensibility that I wasn’t sure how to handle being around so many people who are so front-footed and confident. All I ever do is take the p*** out of myself.’
Directly addressing the constant attention her distinctive teeth get, she added: ‘Even the way [The White Lotus fans] are talking about me and my teeth — that I don’t have veneers or Botox – it feels a bit rebellious.’
Aimee has previously opened up about her years of being tormented by bullies for her appearance when she was a child, which left her feeling like she was ‘too ugly’ to land major roles.
‘I always used to say: ”I will never get a job on TV because I’m too weird looking”,’ she told The Observer in 2021.
‘Anyone who’s been bullied knows what it’s like to hear these things, to internalise it and turn it in on yourself and go: ”If I was just less ugly, just less this, just more this”.’
Aimee was asked if her distinctive teeth have been a ‘barrier’ in her career, with the star insisting that has not been the case, with any issues solely being internalised.
‘It’s completely in my head. It’s a myth I’ve told myself. I had it in my brain that I’m not conventional-looking enough and that’s a mental barrier I’ve had to overcome,’ she said.
It’s a career trajectory that Aimee didn’t expect, with the working class Mancunian actress admitting she’s spent years unpacking childhood trauma (pictured with her parents)
Aimee never expected to find fame as an actress because she was bullied by her ‘posh’ classmates for her Stockport accent and teased about her ‘Bugs Bunny’ teeth as a child
However, she noted that no other Americans have her teeth as she revealed she believes she would have to get veneers if she wanted to play someone from the States.
She told On Demand Entertainment: ‘It’s the teeth. Like, no Americans have my teeth. They just don’t. I’d have to get veneers. Because … I think that genuinely is like one of the things.’
In The White Lotus, Aimee stars as Chelsea, the young, Mancunian girlfriend of Rick (Walton Goggins) who takes her to Thailand but has other motivations behind the couple’s retreat.
Aimee’s struggles with her body image saw her develop eating disorders and body dysmorphia during her childhood, before staff at drama school RADA intervened.
She told Harper’s Bazaar: ‘I hated my body and didn’t want to be in it – that’s not the case any more, thank God.
‘But then, going to drama school, it can get even worse. I have scoliosis [curvature of the spine], so neutral for me is not neutral for everyone else.
‘You go to drama school and everyone’s being straightened out. It’s not easy being told you’re moving wrong – it’s basically a tirade on your body.’
Aimee told how she struggled with expressing herself through her body while acting at drama school, which only worsened her eating disorder struggles.
As well as struggling with bullying at school, Aimee also had a difficult relationship with her father, who worked as a car dealer, for much of her childhood
Aimee told how her father – who she now has a better relationship with – battled drink and drug addiction and would leave the family home without warning for days on end
‘I was so detached from my body when I was in the eating disorders, it was like I was outside it, scrutinising it,’ she tearfully told The Guardian in 2023.
‘There are things around the acting that I have found in the past quite hard, and I’m finding them easier the more loving I am to myself.’
However, her struggles with bulimia were eventually noticed by staff at RADA, where she trained, leading to a ‘harsh but necessary’ intervention.
Through therapy, she was able to reframe her issues with her body as well as unpack the childhood trauma she faced.
As well as struggling with bullying at school, Aimee also had a difficult relationship with her father, who worked as a car dealer, for much of her childhood.
Previously addressing her ‘turbulent’ upbringing, Aimee told how her father battled drink and drug addiction and would leave the family home without warning for days on end.
She told The Guardian: ‘He would go out for a pint and not come back for days. He once went out and didn’t come back for 10 weeks because he’d been to the World Cup in Korea.’
‘He was a party animal on the scene in Manchester so he would hang out with celebrities and Manchester City football players; he had a massive ego, so that gave him validation,’ she added.
Aimee’s struggles with her body image saw her develop eating disorders and body dysmorphia during her childhood, before staff at drama school RADA intervened
Through therapy, she was able to reframe her issues with her body as well as unpack the childhood trauma she faced
‘Because of him, my mum had to carry a lot on her shoulders. She tried to protect us, and took responsibility for it, in a way.’
Her parents ended up divorcing while she was at school, with Aimee living with her mother and her new partner – who paid for her to go to a private secondary school, where she first took up drama.
Despite her difficulties, Aimee admitted it was those things that spurred her on to become an actor because it helped her to ‘express’ herself and avoid ‘bad things’.
Aimee’s father is now clean and sober, and their relationship is far healthier.
She shared: ‘It’s hard with addicts: you feel like you spend your whole life congratulating them for getting sober, but what about the people who get left behind?
‘I guess therapy has helped me to unpick a lot. I’m learning through therapy that some people have a really steady line in life and then… poof, trauma. While others are working through a constant flow of s**t.’
In 2019, Aimee landed her big break when she was cast in Netflix’s racy comedy, Sex Education, as the sweet and ditzy Aimee in her first major acting credit.
She played the girlfriend of the headmaster’s son, Adam, with fans delighted when it emerged that she and the actor Connor Swindells were dating in real life.
Yet the relationship fizzled out after two years, with Aimee telling how they decided things weren’t working out after spending time apart for work.
‘We still really love each other and respect each other. It was an okay break-up, it wasn’t dramatic,’ she added.
Aimee (pictured on Sex Education) has defiantly kept hold of her roots, revealing why she feels ‘rebellious’ for refusing to get Botox or veneers
Amid her huge rise to fame, she returned to Netflix last month, taking on a starring role in Toxic Town alongside Jodie Whittaker, Claudia Jessie and Robert Carlyle
Aimee said she also finds it really important to have time for herself because she often ‘betrays’ herself and ‘compromises her integrity’ to keep her partner happy.
‘When I’m in a relationship I find it hard to maintain my sense of self. I’m very independent but also quite impressionable,’ she added.
After soaring to fame in Sex Education, she received industry praise when she won the BAFTA TV Award for Female Performance in a Comedy Programme in 2021.
In 2020, Aimee appeared in the play Uncle Vanya, starring alongside huge British names including Richard Armitage and Toby Jones.
She then went on to join the star-studded cast of The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, which saw Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy taking on the leading roles.
In another big project, she appeared alongside acting legend Bill Nighy in 2022 film Living, which follows a humorous bureaucrat as he takes time off work in 1950s London after receiving a grim diagnosis.
Aimee went on to appear in Cabaret as Sally Bowles at the Kit Kat Club for a three-month stint.
Last year saw her take the lead in BBC comedy Daddy Issues, playing a pregnant party girl who is forced to move back in with her recently divorced father (David Morrissey).
She also returned to Netflix last month, taking on a starring role in Toxic Town alongside Jodie Whittaker, Claudia Jessie and Robert Carlyle.
Having gained a younger American fanbase with her work in Sex Education, Aimee has now drawn in an even wider crowd with her work on The White Lotus
Aimee has previously been asked if her distinctive teeth have been a ‘barrier’ in her career, with the star insisting that has not been the case, with any issues solely being internalised
The four-part series delved deeply into the tragic real-life story of the Corby poisonings – one of the UK’s most devastating environmental disasters.
It told the heart-wrenching tales of mothers whose children suffered disabilities due to the scandal as they tirelessly fought for justice.
Having gained a younger American fanbase with her work in Sex Education, Aimee has now drawn in an even wider crowd with her work on The White Lotus.
This year will also see her star in crime-thriller film Sweet Dreams, which has been pitched as ‘a British Fargo’.
If you have been affected by anything in this article please contact Samaritans by calling 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org.
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