With ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Now Here, Get to Know Star Nicola Coughlan

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The highly-anticipated return of Bridgerton is here, and series regular Nicola Coughlan is ready for the spotlight in the popular Netflix period romance.

Now streaming—with a second batch of episodes dropping later in the summer on June 13—Bridgerton Season 3 focuses on Penelope Featherington, played by Coughlan, and her efforts to secure a husband in Regency-era London. Though, as the trailer suggests, her friendship with Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) looms heavily over her search.

While 37-year-old Coughlan has found a home on Bridgerton as Featherington and her scandal sheet alias Lady Whistledown, the Irish actor faced a less-than-regal path to television stardom. Here are a few things you might not know about her life and late-blooming career onscreen.

Coughlan wanted to act from an early age

Born on January 9, 1987, Coughlan grew up in Oranmore, Ireland. It didn’t take long for her to gravitate toward the arts.

Coughlan caught the acting bug at age 5 when she saw her sister, Clodagh, perform in a school play. “I was always roping my friends into making my own movies and plays,” she told The Guardian. She earned her first true role at age 9 playing a “Little Girl Feeding Swans” in the 1997 action movie My Brother’s War.

Coughlan continued her education and added minor voice roles to her résumé over the next few years, but making the full leap into acting wasn’t easy.

She worked in retail before her career took off

After studying English and classics at the National University of Ireland, Galway, Coughlan enrolled in separate courses at the Oxford School of Drama and the Birmingham School of Acting. Both institutions turned her down for their multiyear programs.

Unable to find acting work or attract an agent as an adult, Coughlan worked in retail jobs selling beauty products and frozen yogurt, according to The New York Times. Her bank account dipped below $100 on multiple occasions.

Still, an undaunted Coughlan didn’t give up. “Deep, deep down, she believed in herself,” said playwright Camilla Whitehill, one of her best friends. “She did have some awful—like, truly, truly awful—part-time jobs that were depressing as hell. But I never really doubted her.”

She was unsure of her breakout show Derry Girls

At age 30, Coughlan starred in the 2016 play Jess and Joe Forever in London and finally secured an agent. It was this new connection that allowed her to audition for what became her breakout role as Clare Devlin the TV series Derry Girls.

Only, she had no inkling of its ensuing success. “The day before the premiere [in 2018], I went to get my hair done, and I asked my hairdresser if she’d post on her Instagram that my show was coming out, so that some of her clients might watch it,” she told Bustle in April 2022. “None of us were well known actors. There was no specific reason for me to think people would tune in, you know?”

But they did—Derry Girls became one of British Channel 4’s biggest comedies and reached even bigger heights on Netflix, beginning in 2019. The streamer reported in 2023 that the show’s three seasons drew more than 17 million total viewing hours.

She also auditioned for Stranger Things

While Coughlan is no stranger to Netflix viewers thanks to Derry Girls and the Shonda Rhimes–produced Bridgerton, she almost wound up on the streamer’s science fiction hit Stranger Things. Coughlan told Buzzfeed in April 2022 she auditioned for the Season 3 part of Robin Buckley, now played by Maya Hawke.

Coughlan admitted Hawke “was far better than I ever would have been,” and took the rejection in stride. “It’s a good lesson to actors: Watch the stuff you didn’t get, because you’ll totally understand how it’s not personal,” she said. “You’re just right for some things, and you’re not right for other things.”

She edits Bridgerton for her family

It’s no secret a large part of Bridgerton’s appeal has been its steamy romance scenes. This initially came as a bit of a shock to Coughlan’s mother who, according to the actor, “didn’t know it was gonna be so saucy.”

Coughlan claims the third season will similarly be a “spicy one,” featuring Penelope’s relationship with Colin. Because of this, Coughlan told SiriusXM Hits 1 she added a clause in her contract requiring Netflix to send her family an edited version of this season. “People think I’m like saying it as a joke,” she said. “I grew up Irish Catholic. That’s just not how we vibe.”

Coughlan had a brief role in Barbie

Raking in more than $1.4 billion worldwide at the box office, Barbie was the biggest blockbuster of 2023. But even if you saw the Greta Gerwig–directed feature, you might have missed Coughlan’s brief appearance. The actor played Diplomat Barbie, one of the many variations of the doll that appeared in the movie.

Due to scheduling conflicts, her role was limited to one small scene. Coughlan still gushed about her short time on set—including her costume, which was inspired by a Barbie she had as a child. “It’s been the most fun thing today, maybe the most fun I’ve ever had in the single day of a job,” she said.

She advocates for female actors and characters

Coughlan is outspoken in her support for women in TV and has encouraged showrunners and screenwriters to craft more throughly-written female characters. In a March 2021 essay for The Guardian, Coughlan praised her Bridgerton character Penelope’s on-screen friendship with Eloise (played by Claudia Jesse) for its complexity. “We have been written as real human beings, not facsimiles of what we think a Regency woman was,” she wrote.

She also cited TV series like Fleabag, Broad City, Parks and Recreation, and Euphoria for building truly authentic female characters. “I, for one, am excited by all the difficult, brilliant, complex women to come, who have yet to grace our screens,” Coughlan wrote. “Long may the sisterhood reign over us.”

Judi Dench inspires Coughlan

Coughlan has built an array of celebrity friendships and connections, including RuPaul and Kim Kardashian. But when it comes to acting, the one person she would like to work with most is Dame Judi Dench.

“It’s her tenacity and also her work ethic. I think that’s something that in this industry you have to really value because it is hard work, you know,” Coughlan said of the 89-year-old Dench. “She’s someone who, you know, at her age she always says she’s honored to still be working, and I love to hear that.”

Coughlan also stars in the comedy-drama Big Mood

In addition to Bridgerton Season 3, you can catch Coughlan in the new comedy-drama series Big Mood on Tubi. The show follows two longtime best friends who re-examine their relationship as they start the next phase of their lives.

Coughlan explained to AP Entertainment she filmed the two series simultaneously, leading to some stressful days on set. “I remember that I was so tired, I would just start crying randomly. And I would be saying, ‘There’s nothing actually wrong with me. I am just very tired.’ I had to learn my Big Mood script on the Bridgerton set,” she said.

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