Bridgerton and Derry Girls actress Nicola Coughlan made her Met Gala debut on Monday and it seems the 35-year-old was overwhelmed by the whole experience as during the renowned fashion event she took to social media to recall how quickly her life has changed. It was her first appearance at the annual fundraising gala, which sees famous faces take to a red carpet at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Prior to walking the red carpet on May 2, Nicola had shared a video to her two million Instagram followers and Marie Claire Magazine followers of her getting all glammed up for the big event. Her fellow Bridgerton co-stars Phoebe Dynevor (Daphne Bridgerton) and Simone Ashley (Kate Sharma) were also in attendance.
The theme of this year's event was Gilded Glamour and the Irish star seemed to take inspiration from her on-screen Netflix character Penelope Featherington/Lady Whistledown. She took to the carpet wearing a pink and black dress by Richard Quinn which was embellished with feathers and jewels.
But it seems her appearance at the star-studded event had reminded her of how her life once was, and taking to her Instagram stories she showed a sneak peek from inside the exclusive party with a humbling caption, that read: “Good at times like this to remember I used to work in a Spar". The clip showed a musical performance from Lenny Kravitz, who was up on stage singing 'Are You Gonna Go My Way', whilst music artist Lizzo and American rapper Anderson Paak could be seen just below the stage singing and dancing along.
Nicola landed her big TV break when she was cast as Clare in Lisa McGee's Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls back in 2018, alongside fellow stars Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell and Dylan Llewellyn. The third and final series is currently being broadcast on Channel 4.
She has since risen to worldwide stardom in Shondaland's Netflix series Bridgerton, where she plays wallflower Penelope Featherington, who was unmasked at the end of series one in 2020 as Lady Whistledown, the writer behind the Ton gossip column. She is also set to appear in a new British comedy film titled 'Seize Them' alongside Sex Education's Aimee Lou Wood and BBC Ghost's star Lolly Adefope.
The 35-year-old has previously shared how she "grateful" she is for her acting career. Back in March she took to Instagram sharing a picture of herself from six years ago when she was a "waitress". The post read: "This is a picture of me from six years ago when I was a waitress. I remember taking it and joking about how bad my hair looked cos I hadn’t been able to afford to get it done in months.
“During this time I was so desperate to be acting," she continued: "and unsure that I would ever get to. I was really broke and really disheartened. Just sharing because I’m so deeply grateful of all the things I’ve been lucky enough to do since this picture was taken.
“I’m in constant disbelief at the good fortune I’ve had, the people I worked with, and the people I’m about it work with. It’s overwhelming to think back but I’m so grateful to all the kindness and support people have shown me and know I never take a moment of this for granted. Follow ya dreams kids”.
Derry Girls continues on Tuesdays on Channel 4 and All 4 from 9pm. Bridgerton series one and two are available to stream on Netflix.
