- Nicola Coughlan rejects discussions about body positivity or weight loss publicly
- She lost weight during Bridgerton filming but was still labeled plus-size
- Coughlan wants focus on her acting work rather than her physical appearance
Irish actor Nicola Coughlan has become one of the most loved faces on Netflix in recent years. She first gained wide attention through the comedy series Derry Girls, where she played the anxious but hilarious student Clare Devlin. But it was her role in the hit period drama Bridgerton that truly made her a global star.
On the show, Nicola plays Penelope Featherington, a quiet young woman from the Featherington family who secretly writes the scandal sheet Lady Whistledown. Over the seasons, the character grows from a shy outsider into one of the most important figures in the story. In the third season of the series, Penelope's love story with Colin Bridgerton, played by Luke Newton, finally takes centre stage.
The show is known for its romance, lavish costumes, and dramatic society gossip. But for Nicola Coughlan, some of the conversation around the series has focused on something she wishes people would ignore – her body.
In a recent interview with Elle, the 39-year-old actor said she has no interest in being part of discussions around body positivity or weight loss.
"I Have No Interest In Body Positivity," Says Nicola Coughlan
"The thing I say sometimes that pisses people off is, ‘I have no interest in body positivity,'" she said. "When I was a kid growing up, I never thought about that. I didn't look at actors and think about their bodies. So, I actually don't care."
"There are a lot of things I'm passionate about, and it's not one of them," the actor continued. "That's someone else's thing. It's not mine."
The actor also spoke about how strange it felt to see people discuss her size after the release of season three. During filming, she said she had actually been working out regularly and had lost some weight.
Nicola Coughlan Hates It When People Comment On Her Body
"What was really bizarre was, when I was shooting that series, I was exercising a lot because I knew I had to, so I had lost a bunch of weight—I was probably a size 10 and one of the corsets was a size 8," Nicola Coughlan noted. "And then people talked about how I was plus-size, and I was like, 'How f**ked are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen?'"
The star said the comments sometimes even come from fans in person. One particular moment left her very uncomfortable.
"I remember this really drunk girl once talking to me in a bathroom being like, 'I loved [Bridgerton] because of your body,'" she recalled. "And started talking about my body, and I was like, 'I want to die. I hate this so much,'" the Derry Girls star added.
For the actor, the main issue is simple. She wants people to focus on the work she puts into her role rather than her appearance.
"It's really hard when you work on something for months and months of your life—you don't see your family, you really dedicate yourself—and then it comes down to what you look like. It's so f**king boring," Nicola concluded.
Other than Derry Girls and Bridgerton, Nicola Coughlan has been a part of shows like Dodger, Big Mood, and Doctor Who.
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