Simone Ashley shot to global fame with the announcement that she will be the female lead of season two of Netflix and Shonda Rhimes’s hit show Bridgerton, which is poised for a highly anticipated release in March. Based on author Julia Quinn’s second novel in the romance series, The Viscount Who Loved Me, this season follows Bridgerton heir Anthony Bridgerton's romance with Kate Sharma (Ashley). The announcement of Ashley's casting was globally celebrated for breaking down a race barrier, changing Kate’s ethnicity from the books so her family would be of Indian descent.

The first season broke records debuting as the streamer’s biggest series ever with 82 million household viewers and as the number 1 series in 83 countries. Praised for its diverse cast and progressive storylines, the show became an instant cultural phenomenon and has been lauded with a variety of prestigious awards and critical acclaim.

Prior to this breakout moment, Ashley was best known for her role as Olivia in the highly-praised television series Sex Education, which won the Top 100 Popular Television award from ReFrame, and has been nominated for various BAFTA, MTV, and GLAAD series awards.

Past credits include Netflix’s Broadchurch; BBC’s Wolfblood, C.B. Strike, Doctors, and Casualty; Freeform’s Guilt; Rai Production’s L'ispettore Coliandro; Euston Film’s mini-series Because The Night; Warner Bros’ Pokémon Detective Pikachu; Dandelion Production’s TV movie A Working Mom's Nightmare; Zorg Studio’s Kill Ben Lyk; GlobalWatch Film’s Boogie Man; and the short Sparrow.

An avid animal lover and photography enthusiast, Ashley currently splits her time between London and LA.