Simone Ashley has opened up on being an actress of Indian heritage, admitting rather than feel pressure to represent her community, she ‘celebrates it’.
The actress, 29, shot to fame in 2022 when she played the feisty aristocrat Kate Sharma in Netflix period drama Bridgerton.
Born to Indian Tamil parents, her character was changed to also be from India, with south Asian culture being reference throughout the season, which was celebrated as a huge step in diversity.
Appearing on the cover of the May issue of Vogue India, Simone spoke about how it felt to represent her community.
She showcased her incredible beauty in rainbow striped one-shouldered dress, before slipping into a sheer white blouse and displaying her long legs.
Simone Ashley has opened up on being an actress of Indian heritage, admitting rather than feel pressure to represent her community, she ‘celebrates it’
The actress, 29, shot to fame in 2022 when she played the feisty aristocrat Kate Sharma in Netflix period drama Bridgerton (pictured)
Appearing on the cover of the May issue of Vogue India , Simone spoke about how it felt to represent her community
When asked if she felt pressure to represent Indians, she said: ‘Not really, because I’m an actor. I’m not travelling far and wide to India to save the country.
‘But when you watch and read up on the history of India and what her people have gone through, it does feel heavy.’
Simone said it was the ‘best feeling’ when fellow brown women told her how much it meant to them to see themselves represented onscreen.
She continued: ‘Representing Indian women has been such a joy. Ninety-nine per cent of the people who recognise me and come up to me are women of colour, and that’s the best feeling because they’re so excited for me.
‘They’ll hug me and tell me how cool it is to see brown women on-screen. It makes me feel safe and seen, and even though I may be on a street in London, I suddenly don’t feel like I’m part of a minority community.
‘I know that there can be pressure on women who are representing their communities in the arts. Maybe one day I will do a project where it’s like, “I need to get this right.” But for now, I’m able to just feel happy and celebrate it.
She will be returning for the third season of Bridgerton, which is set to air its first half on May 16, with the second arriving on June 13.
The end of season two saw Kate marrying Viscount Anthony Bridgerton, played by Jonathan Bailey.
Simone said it was the ‘best feeling’ when fellow brown women told her how much it meant to them to see themselves represented onscreen
And Simone said that the new season will show that Kate has ‘softened quite a bit’ with married life, and is ‘growing into her role as viscountess’.
A teaser trailer for the upcoming season released last month, showed the couple to still be very much in love.
The clip began with Anthony’s sister Francesca telling her brother she needs some time alone during a ball.
Anthony uses this opportunity to join Kate and his mother, Lady Violet Bridgerton, before asking his wife for a dance.
Violet appears emotional as she watches her son Anthony lead Kate towards the dance-floor.
The couple bow to one another before beginning a group dance, where Anthony turns Kate under his arm and kisses her mid-dance.
The third series of the hit regency romance, which follows the eight Bridgerton siblings attempting to find love, will pick up with Penelope Featherington and Colin’s love story
Last year, Simone confirmed her relationship with boyfriend Tino Klein, who is the CEO of the GP Ice Race, a new winter event in Austria.
Last year, Simone confirmed her relationship with boyfriend Tino Klein, who is the CEO of the GP Ice Race, a new winter event in Austria (pictured last year)
It’s unclear how long Simone and Tino have been dating, but it has been reported that they met at the F1 race in Monaco.
In 2022, the Mail on Sunday revealed Simone’s first serious relationship was with coffee brand manager Luke Richardson, who is 13 years her senior.
The couple met in an East London café where he was working as a barista and quickly moved in together.
They then moved to Los Angeles as Simone pursued her fledgling screen career, but their two-year relationship ended when Grimsby-born Luke decided to leave California.
One of Luke’s family friends said: ‘Everything was great for a couple of years. We genuinely thought they were on track to marry and have kids.
‘It was a serious relationship. There is no doubt that Luke was really in love with Simone and the feeling was clearly reciprocated.’
The source said that Simone quickly became ‘like one of the family’, but added: ‘The closer they seemed to get together, the more Luke seemed to get cold feet.
‘The way it ended was that it came down to this issue of him not wanting to stay in LA. They did the long-distance thing for a while, and that didn’t really work.
