GROWING up in a family of academics, she always showed her inclination towards creative fields. Born Simone Ashwini Pillai and now famous as Simone Ashley, the British actress is known for immortalising the character Kate Sharma in Netflix’s sensational drama series Bridgerton. She has proved her acting prowess in several television series and films - Sex Education, The Sister, Guilt and Kill Ben Lyk to name a few.
The daughter of Tamil parents - Latha and Gunasekharan Pillai - she discovered her love for entertainment at home. As her fortes were music, film, photography and art, she sharpened her acting skills at ArtsEd school in West London. She chose her acting career despite her traditional Indian family’s hesitancy about her pursuing her passion which they felt was unconventional.
She appeared in two episodes of the fantasy teen drama Wolfblood, followed by her role in the thriller series Guilt in 2016. She made her feature film debut two years later in 2018 with a role in Boogie Man. Then came Kill Ben Lyk and her career began to flourish. She established herself in Sex Education and has become a household name for her role in Bridgerton.
She talks about how she felt about studying in the UK and what she was like as a teenager.
“I was a bit of a rebel,” she told British Vogue.
She attended “a predominantly white all-girls school” where “I didn’t fit in”.
“There was bullying and I was wishing my life away,” she said. But she would tell herself, “You’ll move away from this place, you’ll find your people and you’ll do whatever you want.”
Her progress in her career demonstrates her steely resolve.
“I didn’t have the traditional entry into this industry that a lot of my white peers had, that of being a thespian, and I’ve always found that a bit isolating,” she said of her experience in her chosen field.
But she is clear: “I don’t want the colour of my skin to ever stop me.”
Well, what does she feel about Bridgerton?
She loves being a part of the show but there is one aspect of filming it that she abhors.
Chris Van Dusen's creation is a historical drama, which means all the actors have to dress in intricate and often heavy costumes to add a touch of royalty to their characters. For Ashley, this aspect of filming the show is nearly unbearable.
She told The Sunday Times: “Corsets push everything down to the bottom of your stomach. That means when you take them off, you have got a little bump. I hated wearing those corsets filming Bridgerton.”
She said she had “a lot of pain with the corset.”
“I think I tore my shoulder at one point! I realised when you wear the corset, you just do not eat. It changes your body. I had a smaller waist momentarily. Then the minute you stop wearing it, you are just back to how your body is,” she revealed.
Much to her delight, Ashley could go corset free for the much-anticipated season 3 of the show.
She explained, “Luckily, we are allowed to wear bras now instead, and that has changed everything for me. I can do a 12-hour day and feel comfortable.”
However, fans can brace themselves to see many changes in Bridgerton 3.
Her Kate won’t be a main character, but they will see how she and Anthony are settling into married life.
She spoke about her excitement in a recent interview with Grazia.
“What’s so special about Bridgeton is that every season there is a new focus on a new love story. So in season three, I am really excited for everyone to see Penelope and Collin’s love story unfold because it has been a long time coming. But I am equally as excited for everyone to see Kate settling into the Bridgerton family and a little bit more of her backstory as well,” the Surrey-born actress said.
She likes Italian opera and playing the piano.
"I grew up singing quite a lot and studied a lot of classical music, and then that kind of led into musical theatre and I fell in love with musicals," Ashley told People.
