Simone Ashely on Penelope’s Nude Scene: “I’m Proud of Nicola Coughlan Who Showed She’s Much More Than Her Weight”

Impeccable on the red carpet but all bundled up and practically unrecognisable in London: Simone Ashley, Viscountess Bridgertonwas snapped by paparazzi while having her picture taken next to a giant billboard featuring her image for one of the L’Oréal Paris campaigns for which she is the testimonial.

The leap was almost obvious: noted in Sex Education (always on Netflix), then married by the nobles of the Regency era on TV (in the transposition of Julia Quinn’s novels, published by Mondadori), the next step is almost always an award. And not just any award: Prince Albert II of Monaco awarded her the Crystal Nymph as a rising star at the Monte Carlo TV Festival.

It was more than logical that she was chosen as the face of the new generation. Whether or not she is present in the fourth season of the series (she won’t commit herself) she is now very much launched in the Olympus of young stars and not only her peers see themselves in her. “I think it’s important to feel good about yourself – she told the foreign press of the festival – and I’m proud that Nicola Coughlan/Penelope has shown that she loves herself as she is, that she is much more than her weight. She is a strong, courageous, kind and intelligent woman”. The actress is referring to her colleague’s nude scene, one of the most daring of the series, not only because it is explicit but because she looks in the mirror and finally recognizes and appreciates herself. “I also understood this message – continues Simone Ashley – and it’s all thanks to the role model that my mother instilled in me, a woman who left her homeland, India, to go to New York, on the other side of the world. During that trip she got to know herself and understood her own value”.

The actress at the Monte Carlo Film Festival

A champion of beauty in all its facets, the brand could not have chosen a better representative, also because – she continues – «I love getting ready with makeup and hair for red carpets and be ready to meet the public. I have a weakness for fashion and it seems like a fun game to me. Think about Kate in Bridgerton how she transforms and what message she sends with her makeup and clothes. And it is important that viewers also find coherence between the values ​​shown in the fictional world even when you meet the interpreter in person».

In her role as the brand’s UK ambassador, Simone Ashley expresses more than just pride. With her famous tagline “I’m worth it,” she says, “I’m honored to be part of a family of the most beautiful and inspiring women in the world.”

What awaits her after meeting a prince, becoming the face of her peers and two Netflix series? She’s not even 30 years old and has achieved goals that colleagues have never even come close to in a lifetime. There is one answer for sure: everything she is experiencing is well deserved.