Who is Simone Ashley? Meet Netflix's 'Bridgerton' Season 2 star playing female lead Kate Sharma
Season 2 of the Netflix blockbuster series 'Bridgerton' is just around the corner and fans can't wait to see Anthony Bridgerton find the love of his life. So, this year, we have a new female lead and it's none other than Simone Ashley, who will be playing the role of Kate Sharma on the latest edition. All eyes would be on her as she dives deeper into the world of 'Bridgerton' and gives a performance that would make her a worldwide star.
In February 2021, the streaming giant announced that Simone's character Kate Sharma is a “smart, headstrong woman who suffers no fools”. The character has got a name change for the series. In the book, she is Kate Sheffield. On the show, she’ll be Kate Sharma.
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Ashley will be the female lead opposite Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton) in Season 2 of the popular epic period drama series based on the romance novels written by author Julia Quinn.
Ashley and Bailey are succeeding Phoebe Dynevor and Rege-Jean Page in Season 2. Page and Dynevor became global stars after playing Simon and Daphne in the first season of the series.
Simone has already been a part of another Netflix series in the past and fans will be expecting an amazing performance from the up-and-coming star.
Who is Simone Ashley?
Hailing from a traditional Indian family, Simone Ashley was born on March 30, 1995, and started her career as a model in London. However, she soon started getting inclined toward acting. In 2016, she made her TV debut with the series ‘Wolfblood’. She played the role of Zuhra in the series that ran through five seasons.
Ashley was also a part of the critically-acclaimed ITV series ‘Broadchurch’ starring Olivia Colman, David Tenant, and Jodie Whittaker. Interestingly, Jonathan Bailey, who’ll play the male lead in ‘Bridgerton’ Season 2, was also a part of the show and featured in 16 episodes.
After making cameo appearances in many television projects, Ashley made her big-screen debut with 2019’s ‘Pokemon Detective Pikachu’. However, she gained much prominence with Netflix’s hit series ‘Sex Education’. The actress portrayed the role of Olivia in the series and was recently seen reprising her role in Season 4. She received a lot of praise for her acting and has been on Netflix’s radar since.
Apart from the aforementioned projects, Ashley was also seen on the TV series 'The Sister'. She played the role of Elise Fox on the show and appeared in 3 episodes.
She is quite famous on social media as well and has more than 512,000 on Instagram.
Author Julia Quinn excited about the casting
Julia Quinn, who is famous for writing the ‘Bridgerton’ novels, was really excited about the casting when the streamer announced that Simone will be playing the role of Kate. The novelist expressed her pleasure by sharing a collage of Ashley on her official Instagram account.
Her caption reads: “WE HAVE OUR KATE!!!!! Welcome to #Bridgerton, @simoneasshley! I couldn’t dream of a more perfect Kate. I mean, just LOOK at her expression in that first photo!”
When will Season 2 of 'Bridgerton' arrive?
Season 2 will be about London's most eligible bachelor Anthony Bridgerton and his relationship with Kate. The latest season will be premiering exclusively on Netflix on Friday, March 25, and will consist of 8 episodes.
