Some fans of actor Nicola Coughlan, who stars in Netlix’s hit drama “Bridgerton,” have recently taken to social media to express their disbelief over finding out her real age.
Coughlan, who has played teenage characters in relatively recent shows, is in fact 37 years old.
In Shondaland’s “Bridgerton,” Coughlan plays character Penelope Featherington, who has been reported to be aged at around 17 or 18 years old. The first season of “Bridgerton” premiered in 2020, and Season 3 — which will focus on Penelope’s love life — is set to hit the streaming service next month.
Coughlan also starred in U.K. coming-of-age comedy series “Derry Girls,” in which she played a high school student. The show premiered in 2018 and ran for three seasons.
The conversation surrounding Coughlan’s age — and her ability to convincingly play a teenager — might’ve been recently reignited due to her Harper’s Bazaar cover story, which was published this week.
The actor discussed her age in an essay for the publication, in which she shared how much her life has changed since 2017, when she was working part-time in an optician’s office.
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“Nicola Coughlan doesn’t age,” one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
“I am so fascinated by Nicola Coughlan and can’t even explain it,” wrote another. “She doesn’t look 37 all. Fr, this is what it means to age backwards.”
Other X users criticized some of the reaction to Coughlan’s age, arguing that society perceives 37 to be older than it is.
“It’s funny seeing the ‘she’s 37!?’ responses to the beautiful Nicola Coughlan,” one X user wrote. “I wonder if part of is to do with the idea of being early twenties and seeing later 30s as being so much older when it actually isn’t. I remember being a teen thinking I couldn’t wear shorts past 27!”
Author Moniza Hossain argued on X that although Coughlan is “youthful looking,” people in their 30s and 40s “don’t suddenly get very wrinkled post 30.”
Coughlan had discussed the public scrutiny women in the TV and film industry often face — an issue she’s said she’s personally dealt with — in her essay for Harper’s Bazaar.
She said women are often pressured to look youthful — “permanently 22 years old” — among other body image-related pressures.
“As much as I love what I do, all the scrutiny isn’t easy, and fame is a very strange consequence of doing my job,” she wrote.
She later added: “Yes, I’m terrified of the scrutiny, the opinions, the number of eyes on me; but, ultimately, the thing that’s making me step out of the shadows, even though it terrifies me, is that I’m so proud of the work I’ve done, the people I’ve worked with and these beautiful shows we’ve made.”
Coughlan stars in new series, “Big Mood,” set to stream on Tubi on April 19.