Hollywood star Nicola Coughlan is best known for playing Michelle in Derry Girls, which is in the middle of airing its final season
The Derry Girls and Bridgerton fan favourite was born and raised in Galway, Ireland.
The budding talent has starred in a number of popular TV shows and recently made her first Met Gala appearance where she wore a feathered pink and black ball gown with a matching cape, custom made by London-Irish designer Richard Quinn.
Nicola was alongside some of the biggest names in the industry.
Her roles - which include her performance as Clare Devlin in Derry Girls, and as Penelope Featherington in Netflix period drama Bridgerton - have launched her to critical acclaim and total stardom.
Childhood
Nicola, 35, was born in March 1987 and her roots are in Oranmore, Galway, but she is currently based in London.
She has two siblings, Kieran and Clodagh, and attended Scoil Mhuire primary school and Calasanctius College for secondary school.
At the age of 5, when watching her older sister perform in a school play, she developed an interest in acting, and decided she wanted to be an actress.
In an interview with the Guardian in February, she said: “I had these grand notions that I wanted to go off and be an actor… I was always roping my friends into making my own movies and plays.”
After graduating with a degree in English and Classical Civilisation from the National University of Ireland, Galway.
She then went on to train in England at the Oxford School of Drama and Birmingham School of Acting.
Career highlights
In the early days of her career, Nicola had to move back to Ireland after struggling to make ends meet. She worked in an opticians, and as a waitress, going through a period of depression.
The Galway native recently opened up on Instagram about the trials she faced on her way up and shared a photo of her from when she worked as a waitress and was “disheartened and broke”.
In an emotional Instagram post, Nicola said: “During this time I was so desperate to be acting and unsure that I would ever get to. I was really broke and really disheartened.”
She expressed her gratitude for the people she has worked with and the good fortune that came her way and advised fans not to give up on their dreams.
She made her on-screen debut in the controversial short The Phantom Cut directed by Tom Collins.
Nicola then went on to appear on BBC's Doctors (2011).
The Irish star shot to fame and got her big break in 2018 when she began playing teenager Clare Devlin in three seasons of Derry Girls.
It wasn’t long before she gained worldwide attention as Lady Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton which won her critical acclaim, now she is a Hollywood star.
In addition, she starred in Harlots as Hannah Dalton and made guest appearances in shows like The Great Christmas/Festive Bake Off and RuPaul's Drag Race UK.
She’s also used her position in the spotlight to highlight and actively support LGBT and reproductive rights in Northern Ireland and has been vocal about the intense scrutiny faced by women in the industry.
The actress wrote an emotional essay for The Guardian back in 2018, where she voiced her frustration with critics who constantly criticise her body instead of her work.
Nicola said: “Women in my industry are put under constant scrutiny for their looks. It affects male actors as well…but something in our society tells us that women’s bodies are fair game for scrutiny in a way that men simply are not.”
Nicola, 35, is intensely private about her personal life, but it is reported she was in a relationship previously with an actor named Laurie Kynaston.
There is no stopping Nicola’s success, and she has even been named one of the world’s 12 Best Dressed Women of 2021 by American Vogue, alongside stars such as Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa, and Kate Moss.
Some of Nicola’s most stylish looks selected by Vogue included her gorgeous Balenciaga dress at the London premiere of House of Gucci and a stunning red Valentino gown at the TV BAFTAs.
Speaking in response to the astounding award, Coughlan said it was an “insane honour”.
“As if @voguemagazine’s Best Dressed Women of 2021 are Lady Gaga, Zendaya, and a woman who wore pyjama bottoms to work yesterday (me),” she wrote on Instagram.
Read more: Nicola Coughlan teases season 3 Bridgerton drama and thanks fans as show breaks Netflix record
Read more: Derry Girls' final series will end with double-length episode set one year in the future
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