Simone Ashley made sure all eyes were on her as she returned to the Met Gala on Monday night in a nearly-naked Stella McCartney silver chain dress.
The actress, 31, hasn’t attended the prestigious event since her debut in 2022, and in the last four years her career has sky-rocketed.
After getting her big break in Netflix’s Sex Education in 2019, Simone went on to break down cultural barriers as she secured the lead in series two of Bridgerton.
And now she has hit screens with her dream role as Miranda Priestley’s new assistant Amari in the highly-anticipated sequel The Devil Wears Prada 2.
Posing on the red carpet on Monday night at the Met Gala, the star looked to be just where she belonged, after admitting ‘I never wanted to have a smaller life’.
Born to first-generation immigrants from India, Simone’s parents pursued more traditional careers, her mother an accountant and her father a pharmacist.
She admits that having grown up in a ‘household full of Indian academics’, her ‘incredibly protective’ parents were not initially keen about her pursuing a creative career, telling Veylex that she’s found it ‘stifling at times.
‘It made me want to escape and do things my own way. I’ve always been a bit rebellious in that sense,’ she said.
But it soon became clear to Simone her passions lay elsewhere after she started singing lessons aged six and realised she wished to pursue the arts.
Speaking to The Times last week, she reflected on her teenage years, saying: ‘I would write my dreams in my diary, or in letters to myself.
‘It was just fact. I never wanted to have a smaller life. It wasn’t if, it was when. I knew that I could do it.’
How Simone Ashley’s career sky-rocketed after breaking down cultural barriers in lead Bridgerton role as star secures dream casting alongside Meryl Streep and returns to the Met Gala after four years (pictured)
‘I love that girls with similar hair or skin to mine can see women that look like me on billboards. Now the temperature is slowly getting towards a place where it’s normalised’ (Simone pictured with Jonathan Bailey in Bridgerton)
After two years studying at Redroofs School for the Performing Arts for sixth form, she then went on to pursue a degree in Musical Theatre at ArtsEd in London.
She told Harper’s Bazaar: ‘Since I was little, if I wanted something, I would do anything I could to get it. So, I took some modelling jobs to pay the bills and got into acting through that.’
She added: ‘You can’t have a plan B – you’re either all in or not. It’s like a relationship. If you do have a plan B, it’s probably not going to work out.’
Securing small roles in a range of British dramas, including Broadchurch, Doctors and Casualty, her first big break came when she bagged the role of Olivia in Netflix’s Sex Education.
Throwing herself into racy scenes, one episode sees the character climbing on top of her boyfriend to have sex with him while wearing full Indian dress while her mother sips cups of tea downstairs.
Fearing she makes an ugly face whenever she has an orgasm, she covers his face with a pillow, causing Malek to believe that she has a fetish which freaks him out.
She is later seen putting tape onto Malek’s face to make him uglier during sex so she feels at ease.
Addressing her heritage as an actress of South Asian descent, Simone has spoken out about systemic prejudices in the industry.
‘Yes, colorism is an ongoing issue. As is being typecast, being looked over because of the color of your skin, [and] losing roles to girls that are more “relatable” to target audiences and markets.’
She added: ‘If I surrender to all of that, where would I be going? Nowhere’.
And refusing to be cast in certain roles, from Sex Education she went on to succeed Phoebe Dynevor as the leading lady Kate Sharma in Bridgerton and her fame sky-rocketed.
Her performance alongside Jonathan Bailey earned her a place on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and Time 100 Next, as well as numerous award nominations.
Looking back on how the role turned her into a symbol of diversity overnight, she told The Times: ‘Art is an incredibly political industry — anything you do, any movie you make. Me being a woman of colour is political whether I like it or not, and I’m proud of that.
‘I love that girls with similar hair or skin to mine can see women that look like me on billboards. Now the temperature is slowly getting towards a place where it’s normalised.’
Simone revealed that the role gave her such a platform that she was left with bad anxiety and she would often avoid leaving the house so she didn’t risk being recognised.
She told Harper’s Bazaar: ‘When Bridgerton came out, those were some of the best years of my life, but I also had a lot of anxiety.
‘I was coming to terms with what I wanted and what I didn’t, learning lessons about what really matters to me, taming my ego, listening to my heart… Life has changed and there are certain things I can and can’t do now.
Securing small roles in a range of British dramas, including Broadchurch, Doctors and Casualty, her first big break came when she bagged the role of Olivia in Netflix’s Sex Education
After Bridgerton came romcom Picture This where she starred alongside Hero Fiennes Tiffin, a role she said she had never imagined she would be able to fill when growing up
Now Simone has achieved her dream role, starring alongside Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada 2
‘There was a time when I didn’t leave the house often because I was afraid of being recognised. But it’s a journey and I’ve reached a point where I just don’t care as much.’
After Bridgerton came romcom Picture This where she starred alongside Hero Fiennes Tiffin.
Growing up in Surrey, Simone confessed that she never saw people like her in the romcom lead roles like Julia Roberts or Anne Hathaway.
‘I always wanted to play a character like that,’ she told Sky News.
‘So, when we got the script, I just jumped on it – because I wanted to fill those shoes, and kind of bring back that 90s romcom world.’
Now Simone has achieved her dream role, starring alongside Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada 2.
Speaking about the character, Simone told ELLE Australia, that Miranda’s new assistant Amari ‘is a ‘bada**’ and nothing like Emily Blunt’s neurotic character who did the job in the 2006 original.
She said: ‘People are like: “Oh, she’s the new Emily” and I guess in theory she is, but I think what was funny about Emily Blunt in the first movie was that she was the first assistant but she was a nervous wreck.’
But she noted there were huge differences between the two characters, with Amiri being much more confident and ‘kind of mysterious’.
Simone went on to recall filming and said her first day saw her thrown in at the deep end for a big scene with three-time Oscar winner Meryl.
But she took it in her stride and told the publication: ‘Stanley Tucci made me laugh all the time,’ she says, ‘and Annie [Hathaway] is so sweet — she loves singing, so we would just sing stupid songs. Emily was just so wonderful and such a laugh.’
‘She’s the one Miranda turns to every now and then, and the only one who can talk to her and encourage her to take different routes given the industry and the world have changed.’
Heading to New York for filming, Simone loved the city so much she decided to stay, crediting the setting for giving her a whole new confidence.
Speaking to The Times she said: ‘There’s a big part of London where I still feel very much like a kid, but New York encourages you to be more confident, more upfront.’
Prioritising both her work and her personal life, she explained how the city has allowed her to challenge herself and meet new people and experience new things.
Away from the camera, Simone is also pursuing a career in music, citing singing as her main love before she found acting.
Her debut EP Songs I Wrote in New York dropped on April 10, after she dedicated herself to time in the studio with Grammy-winning producer Fraser T Smith who has worked with Adele, Stormzy and Dave.
And after the Devil Wears Prada press tour, there is no rest for Simone who is already working on her next two film projects.
Simone is starring in the upcoming A24 comedy Peaked, which is directed by The Bear’s Molly Gordon, as well as the music romcom Falling alongside Evan Peters and Sam Claflin.
One thing is for sure, she is showing no sign of slowing down and who knows what could come next as she embarks on her thirties.
