The last few years have proven to be wonderful for Nicola Coughlan and her career, but 2020 might just be the biggest of them all. Nicola has been turning heads all over the world for her role as Penelope Featherington in the Netflix series, Bridgerton. Although Penelope is constantly overlooked by everyone around her, she does her best to stay positive and support those around her. Of course, however, that isn’t always easy to do when there is a mysterious gossip columnist on the loose who is telling everyone’s business. Throughout the season, viewers will see Penelope go through a rollercoaster of emotions and Nicola does an excellent job of portraying them. Keep reading for 10 things you didn’t know about Nicola Coughlan.
1. She Is Irish
Although her character in Bridgerton is British and spends most of her time in London, Nicola is actually Irish. She was born and raised in Galway which is also where she developed an interest in acting. It’s unclear whether she still lives in Ireland or has relocated to England.
2. She’s Always Loved Acting
To put it simply, Nicola was born to be an actress. She fell in love with entertaining at an early age and she often put on little shows for her family where she would recreate scenes from popular TV shows. It eventually became clear to everyone around her that she had a special talent.
3. She’s In Her 30s
Penelope Featherington’s age isn’t made clear in Bridgerton, but it’s obvious that she is meant to be a young teen. Ironically, however, Nicola’s real-life teenage years have been gone for over a decade. Nicola is actually in her early 30s, and she isn’t the only cast member in the show to be playing someone much younger.
4. She Didn’t Expect To Be Cast In Bridgerton
Nicola is a very talented actress who is very confident in her abilities, but she admits that she was a little shocked that she landed the role in Bridgerton. She told Harper’s Bazaar, “I didn’t expect to get this job, because when you hear Shondaland, Netflix, you think, “That’s huge, but that’s going to mean so many auditions that will be painful. I’ll never get it. It’ll be on Netflix, and I’ll be annoyed.”
5. She’s A Formally Trained Actress
Nicola has put in a lot of time and effort to sharpen her skills as an actress. She began her acting education at The Oxford School of Drama before continuing her studies at the Birmingham School of Acting. Both schools have long reputations for producing very successful actors.
6. She’d Never Heard Of The Bridgerton Books Before Auditioning For The Show
The Bridgerton TV show is based on a series of novels by Julia Quinn, but Nicola admits she had never even heard of the books before getting the opportunity to audition for the show. While preparing for the role, Nicola went through the books to learn as much as she could about her character.
7. She Loves Fashion
Penelope Featherington’s fashion choices may not have always been the best, but in real life, Nicola has the fashion game on lock. Nicola has a great sense of style and she loves to put it on display whenever she gets the chance. She enjoys putting outfits together and it gives her another way to express her creative side.
8. She Is An Ally In The Fight Against Racism
Nicola has built a large fan base throughout her career which includes nearly 300,000 followers on Instagram. She has made the conscious effort to use her platform to raise awareness to things that are important to her – one of them being the fight to end racism. She has consistently shared information and resources to help education people on racism and how to work against it.
9. She Doesn’t Consider Herself A Body Positive Activist
Nicola has been very outspoken about her feelings regarding body shamming and unrealistic beauty standards, but her plan was never to become an activist. She told Refinery 29, “I know people mean in the nicest way possible, but I always say to them, ‘I am not a body positivity activist.’ There are so many incredible people who are, and I admire them and think they’re wonderful, but that’s not my focus. I’m an actor. That’s the bottom line for me.’”
10. She Likes To Cook
Since most people have been spending more time at home than usual thanks to COVID-19, it’s become the perfect time to focus on discovering new hobbies or fostering old ones. Cooking is one of the things Nicola has been doing a lot of and she’s found that she really enjoys spending time in the kitchen.
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