SIMONE ASHLEY

ACTOR

Simone has been hotly tipped as a face to watch. She is best known for her role as mean girl Olivia Hanan from Sex Education, but has also appeared in Broadchurch (Season 3), Pokémon Detective Pikachu, and ITV miniseries The Sister.

Simone is a trained performer, from Redroofs School for the Performing Arts. She has also said that the arts were a constant feature of her childhood, thanks to her dad playing rock n’ roll records and watching Hollywood epics like Kill Bill. Her parents were initially still reluctant to see her pursue a career in what they saw as an unstable industry, but Simone has forged ahead anyway – and she sees her recent success as an opportunity to show other South Asians that there is a place for them on screen. Her most recent role in Bridgerton has gone some way to proving Simone’s point: her character Kate Sharma is portrayed as a smart, headstrong woman whose race is incidental to who she is. Simone hopes that future roles will allow her to reflect her Indian roots in a similarly positive and inclusive light, while also making space for darker-skinned actors in front of the camera.