Nicola Coughlan

Nicola Mary Tina Coughlan
Actor Information
Birthplace	Oranmore, Galway, Ireland
Born	January 9, 1987 (age 37)
Character Information
Portrayed	Penelope Bridgerton
Seasons	1, 2, & 3

Nicola Coughlan plays Penelope Bridgerton in Bridgerton.

Biography

Nicola is the daughter of Martin and Beatrice Coughlan. She has an older brother, Kieran and an older sister, Clodagh. Nicola's father was in the Irish army and worked with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) on many peacekeeping missions. Her family lived in Jerusalem while he worked there in the late 1970s to early 1980s.

Nicola's older brother got Nicola into movie production. He bought Nicola a black and white video camera, which she used to make movies and music videos with her family and friends.

Nicola first began acting in front of an audience in drama classes at her primary school, Scoil Mhuire. She felt that doing drama was like playing with a purpose and loved trying to be different people. Nicola's drama teacher Edel Carney was an inspiration to Nicola and gave Nicola faith in herself. Edel helped Nicola secure her first screen role, which involved feeding swans in the movie My Brother's War.

As a child, Nicola was musically talented, coming first in both the tin whistle and fiddle at the Fleadh Cheoil, an Irish arts festival.

Nicola studied English and classics at the National University of Ireland, though she did not enjoy studying much. While in university, she participated in many productions and improv nights. After graduation, Nicola was a struggling actor in London and did many customer service jobs to get by.

Around 2016, Nicola got an open audition at The Old Vic, where she did a reading of the play Jess and Joe Forever and got a standing ovation. She signed with her agent from that play. Her first audition after that led to her breakout role in Derry Girls.

In 2018, Nicola began portraying Clare Devlin, in Derry Girls, a sitcom set in Northern Ireland in the 1990s. Nicola's favorite scene was where Clare came out as lesbian, which went viral.

Later, Nicola was invited to audition for Penelope in Bridgerton, due to her work in Derry Girls. At the time of Nicola's audition, she had just finished filming season two of Derry Girls and only had two days to prepare. She did an audition with a casting director's assistant, believing that it wasn't a proper audition. Two weeks later, Nicola was offered the role of Penelope.

In 2023, Nicola portrayed Diplomat Barbie in the movie Barbie. Due to scheduling clashes with Bridgerton, Nicola only had a small role. Nevertheless, director Greta Gerwig sent Nicola flowers and a handwritten note thanking Nicola for being in the movie. This was Nicola's proudest career moment because she has admired Greta for a long time.

In 2024, Nicola secured the lead role in the movie Love And War, about an Irish woman who rescues her daughter after she is abducted to Syria during a civil war. In June, Nicola released a charity single for pride month named "Shoes... More Shoes", inspired by the pop songs that The Real Housewives make exclusively for gay men. The song raised funds for the trans-focused charity Not a Phase and LGBTQ suicide prevention group The Trevor Project.

Career

Filmography

• Love And War (????)
• Seize Them! (2024)
• The Velveteen Rabbit (2023)
• Barbie (2023)
• Svengali (2013)
• Ivan the Incredible (2012)
• Thor: Legend of the Magical Hammer (2011)
• Summer of the Flying Saucer (2008)
• The Phantom Cnut (short) (2004)
• My Brother's War (1997)

Television

• Bridgerton (2020-2024)
• Big Mood (2024)
• Dodger (2023)
• Derry Girls (2018-2022)
• Harlots (2018)
• Doctors (2012)
• Simsala Grimm - Die Mächen der Brüder Grimm (2010)
• SimsalaGrimm II: The Adventures of Yoyo and Doc Croc (2010)
• The Fairytales (2004-2005)

Notes and Trivia

• Nicola thinks it was wild that she never did a single chemistry test during the audition process, even though Penelope's relationships with Eloise and Colin are really important in the show. Nicola explains that Shonda casts most actors from a single audition because she just has an instinct of who is right for a part and her track record is amazing.
• Some articles from the press falsely reported that Nicola originally auditioned for Eloise, but she actually only auctioned for Penelope.
• Claudia Jessie, who portrays Eloise, originally auditioned for the role of Penelope.
• Nicola is close friends with Claudia Jessie, who portrays Eloise. In the show, Eloise often talks at Penelope, whereas in real life, Claudia is more introverted and Nicola talks more.
• On the first day of filming season one of Bridgerton, during Claudia and Nicola's first scene together, Nicola accidentally stabbed Claudia with a parasol. Nicola was carrying Penelope's dog while wearing really high wedge heels. Ellen Mirojnick, the costume designer, told Nicola that she needed to wear these heels because Claudia was really tall. While filming, Nicola fell over three times because her heels were wobbly and she was walking on grass. At one point, Nicola fell while holding a parasol. Claudia attempted to catch her and the silver spokes of the umbrella went into Claudia's hand, bloodying her white glove. This scene was later cut from the series. It was not a good first day and Nicola thought they might fire her, but they didn't.
• Nicola dislikes when people are talking on set while she is doing a scene. In season two, Penelope has a line where she says, "You are obstinate and opinionated with no inclination to obedience or conformity," which ended up getting cut because Nicola couldn't say the line.
• Nicola's biggest pet peeve is bad airport etiquette, because she has been flying a lot. Bad airport etiquette includes not putting trays away, immediately standing up and blocking the aisle when the plane lands and being rude to the ground staff. Nicola used to do many customer service jobs.
• Out of the Bridgerton cast, Nicola is most likely to ask Claudia Jessie to bail her out of jail.
• Nicola's go-to dance move is the millennial stink face.
• Nicola's drag name is Kylie Gender.
• Nicola remade Avril Lavigne music videos as a child. When Nicola and her sister recreated the music video for Me Against the Music, Nicola was Britney and her sister was Madonna.
• Nicola's favorite dialogue in season three is when Penelope says, "Do I look a mess?" and Colin responds with "Yes, but you are my mess."
• Nicola cried when she met Michael Palin, and when she was near Beyoncé.
• Growing up, Nicola had crushes on whoever people told her she should fancy. This included Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Devon Sawa and Leonardo DiCaprio.
• Nicola was raised Catholic. At the age of twelve, Nicola picked Tina as her confirmation name because the movie Now and Then had a character named Tina 'Teeny' Tercell who wanted to be an actress, like Nicola. Nicola's teacher disapproved of the name Tina, but Nicola picked it anyway.
• When Nicola was a teenager, she was a big fan of the band Busted. She jumped off a balcony to get closer to them. Her favorite member was Charlie Simpson, as she finds big and strong eyebrows attractive. She also liked Green Day and Sum 41.
• Nicola's fashion is inspired by Taylor Russell, Zendaya, Ayo Edebiri and Greta Lee.
• Nicola and Luke Newton's favorite type of fan edit are the ones that show men watching and enjoying Bridgerton, despite pretending not to like it.
• Nicola watched Luke Newton perform in the play The Shape of Things.
• Nicola started a Shingle Champagne Friday on set, where she and other cast mates would drink a glass of champagne in the trailer. Nicola also made hoodies.
• Nicola learned French using Duolingo.
• Nicola and her co-star Luke Newton had a lot of open dialogue to help each other feel more prepared and comfortable about doing intimate scenes.
• While filming a scene at the ball in the episode Old Friends, Nicola and the crew pranked Luke Newton by playing Cougar Town, a song from Luke's former boy band, South4. A full video of the prank is available on YouTube.
  • Luke later scared Nicola by hiding under a desk in the hair and makeup trailer, as payback for Nicola's prank.
• Nicola was in the Barbie movie. In the original script, she portrayed Nobel Prize Barbie, but she ended up being Diplomat Barbie. Emma Mackey ended up portraying the Barbie with a Nobel Prize.
• In 2024, Luke Newton was one of first people to text Nicola on her birthday.
• Nicola kept a vase from set. The vase had flowers on it and was in Penelope's room. Nicola had her eye on it for a long time. On the last day of filming, the props team wrapped up the vase and gifted it to Nicola, along with a note.
• Nicola and Luke both agree that modesty garments are the least glamorous part of the show.
• Before filming the kiss scene in How Bright the Moon, Nicola and Luke had a trial run in the trailer with an intimacy coordinator.
• If Nicola could cast any actor to join the Bridgerton cast, she would choose Bowen Yang. She thinks he's the funniest man in the world and would portray a hilarious Lord who courts one of the ladies.
• When Nicola met Kristen Wiig, she was so panicked that she asked Kristen to move in with her.
• Shortly after Nicola was cast as Penelope, she found out Penelope was Lady Whistledown from a Reddit fan forum because she googled it. On the first day, the crew confirmed that she would indeed be portraying Lady Whistledown and Nicola proceeded to tell everyone about it.
  • Nicola also learned from google that Penelope and Colin would end up together. On the first day, Nicola and Luke met, Nicola told Luke that Penelope was Lady Whistledown and that she would end up with Colin.
• When Nicola heard that Greta Gerwig liked her audition for Barbie, she fell on the ground.
• Nicola and Luke Newton tried Canadian chips for a Netflix video. Nicola's favorite was Miss Vickie's Spicy Dill Pickle chips.
• Nicola's contract for season three specifies that her parents will get a PG version of the show to watch. Her parents are Catholic and her mother was surprised by the amount of nudity in season one of Bridgerton.
• Nicola idolizes Kate McKinnon. Nicola's friend texted her saying that Kate wanted her number so that she could text her, because Kate is a fan of Derry Girls.
• Nicola's favorite outfit from Bridgerton is the dress she wore when she and Colin had their first kiss in How Bright the Moon.
• Nicola would most like Aunt Sarah from Derry Girls to appear in Bridgerton because she would make a fabulous mama.
• Nicola had a hard time filming a Derry Girls scene with Siobhán McSweeney, who portrays Sister Michael, because she was funny and Nicola would laugh every time she spun around on a chair.
• Nicola auditioned for the role of Robin Buckley in Stranger Things and agrees that Maya Hawke was a better fit for the role.
• In January 2024, while Nicola was checking in at the One World Trade Center in New York, a woman referred to Nicola as Lady Whistleballs.
• When Nicola criticizes someone in a group chat, her close friends call her Shady Whistledown.
  • Nicola makes reference to her nickname "Shady Whistledown" in the lyrics of her song "Shoes... More Shoes".
• Nicola would like to appear in films or TV shows with a weird toxic family dynamic, like The Royal Tenenbaums, Arrested Development and Succession. She would also like to appear in a movie for kids.
• Nicola starred in the show Big Mood, which is written by one of Nicola's best friends, Camilla Whitehill-Mathieson. Nicola enjoyed doing a dark comedy and hanging out with the cast.
• Dogs are Nicola's favorite type of house pet.
• Nicola made a guest appearance on RuPaul's Drag Race. After the show started in the United Kingdom, Nicola asked about being on the show for two years.
• Nicola's favorite drag queen is Jinkx Monsoon.
• After filming season three of Bridgerton for eight months, Nicola missed seeing her cast members but did not miss wearing the corsets.
• Nicola's favorite Bridget Jones film is the first one, Bridget Jones's Diary.
• When Nicola was young, she thought she would become a Montessori teacher because she finds toddlers hilarious. However, she thinks it would be exhausting.
• People are sometimes disappointed to learn that Nicola isn't British, but Irish. Around the age of 14, Nicola learned to fake a British accent for professional work.
• Nicola is good at doing accents and impressions of famous people. Nicola practices different accents by watching Instagram videos.
  • Nicola discovered she can do a good impression of Britney Spears at a birthday party at Lucky Voice.
  • Nicola did a Nadine Coyle impression in her audition for Derry Girls, because she had no idea how to do a Derry accent at the time.
    • Since portraying Clare Devlin in Derry Girls, who speaks with a tight and stressed voice, Nicola is no longer able to do a regular Derry accent.
    • Nicola finds the Derry accent harder to do than a British accent.
  • Nicola's favorite accent to do is fake Cockney.
  • Nicola can do an Australian, New York, posh British, valley girl and French accent.
  • Nicola is not good at doing a Texan accent.
  • Nicola had to do a Scottish accent in the play The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. She finds doing a Scottish accent difficult, because her accent changes to a Northern Irish accent after a while. She explains that a Western Scottish accent sounds very similar to a Northern Irish accent.
  • Nicola spoke broken Cantonese in an episode of Derry Girls.
  • Nicola accidentally figured out that she can do an impression of a turkey, while she was trying to imitate someone who talks a lot.
• Three people Nicola would choose as her dream dinner guests are Liza Minelli, Sonja Morgan and Barack Obama. Nicola thinks Obama would be confused as to why he's at the dinner and bring nice wine.
• Nicola lives in East London. In her early career, she spent a lot of time at the Soho Theatre Bar, where she met many people who were struggling actors and writers, in the same boat as her. Many of those people are now successful in their careers.
• When Nicola first moved to London, she had a terrible time, because she was broke, had terrible jobs and wasn't getting auditions. The first time she moved to London, she only lasted six months before moving back home to Ireland.
• After Nicola's final intimacy day with Luke, they celebrated by eating a large pizza.
• Nicola and Luke Newton first met in the summer of 2019 at a dance studio and they hugged. Nicola immediately revealed to Luke that she would be portraying Lady Whistledown and they talked about the future of their roles.
• Shortly before Nicola found out she and Luke would be portraying the romantic leads in season three, she had been telling Claudia that it's fun to portray the weirdo in the corner, because there's a lot less pressure. When Nicola found out Colin and Penelope's story had been moved forward by one season, she was initially freaked out, but then it became exciting.
• The thought of being the romantic lead in season three scared Nicola constantly, throughout season two and in the lead up to season three.
• Initially, the news that Colin and Penelope's story had been moved forward by one season could not be revealed to the press, though Nicola and Luke did tell their families. There was a press interview for season two where an interviewer told Nicola that Shonda had said the seasons might not be in order. Nicola was unaware Shonda had said this and was nervous during the interview.
• Nicola's favorite scene is the carriage scene in the episode Old Friends because it's everything people like about Bridgerton all rolled into one scene - romantic, suspenseful, dramatic, sexy and funny.
• The carriage scene in the episode Old Friends was filmed over several days, split over 2-3 months. It was filmed outside Hampton Court Palace, in a sound stage and outside Bridgerton House.
  • Nicola knew that the carriage scene from the books was very steamy and a big deal. Nicola was initially terrified and didn't feel ready to film the scene because Bridgerton is about female pleasure, intimacy and romantic connection at a deep level, so it took a long time for Nicola to mentally and physically prepare for it. Nicola thinks it's very lucky that she has known Luke for five years and can talk to each other.
  • Due to the limited space inside the carriage, Nicola and Luke could do the scene without seeing the camera crew and cameras surrounding them, which made the scene easier to do.
  • After the cameras stopped rolling, Nicola and Luke continued acting out the carriage scene for several more minutes because they could not hear the director, Andrew Ahn, repeatedly yell for them to stop. According to Nicola, the carriage was like a little sound booth.
  • While Nicola and Luke were filming the carriage scene, there were burly men outside shaking the carriage, to give the appearance that the carriage was in motion. Luke and Nicola were careful not to make eye contact with the men.
• For Nicola, the least glamorous day filming Bridgerton was while filming the queen's garden party in season one due to the torrential rain, cold weather, and strong wind.
• Sometimes when fans recognize Nicola, but cannot remember where they have seen her, Nicola will joke that they met her in prison.
• While Nicola was at a PopUp Bagels shop in New York, the staff recognized her from Bridgerton and gave Nicola a free jumper and a hat.
• Nicola likes to buy themed t-shirts. Due to Colin's love of traveling, she bought Luke Newton a t-shirt that says "Chaps on tour 1813" on the front. Nicola has not seen Luke wear the shirt because he only wears it in his flat as a pyjama top, so she requested a photo of him wearing it.
• Nicola was told by a director that in kiss scenes, she needs to look more like she has never kissed anyone before.
• Nicola is a good cook and has made Luke Newton peanut butter apple crumble and custard, because Luke loves eating crumble as a dessert.
• While filming the intimate mirror scene in the episode Tick Tock, Nicola and Luke were really into the moment when the chaise lounge suddenly broke and collapsed onto the floor. They could have played it off and continued filming, but Nicola broke character by saying, "Luke, we broke the sofa" in her Irish accent, which made Luke laugh.
  • The sound of Nicola and Luke laughing after breaking character made it into the final cut, because laughter was in the script.
  • Nicola needed two wigs for the scene, because they would get messed up too much while filming.
• Nicola's favorite way to pass time on set is trailer naps.
• Nicola's favorite singer is Beyoncé.
• Nicola thinks the emoji that best represents her is the smiling face with three hearts emoji 🥰.
• Nicola has good attention to detail. While on set, she often notices when people have something in their teeth or a hair on them. She is often picking fluff off Luke Newton.
• Nicola thinks when people speak nicely about their exes, it speaks well of them.
• Nicola and Luke Newton both think it's a red flag when someone prefers Anthony over Benedict, uses a 3-in-1 body wash, shampoo, and conditioner, buys their current partner the same fragrance as they bought their ex, or thinks Nigel Berbrooke is attractive.
  • Nicola and Luke don't like it when hotels have shampoo and conditioner combos.
• Nicola likes asking people what their phone wallpaper is because it tells a lot about them.
• Nicola thinks straight men post strange photos on their Instagram.
• Nicola used to dislike period dramas until Bridgerton opened her eyes.
• If the Bridgerton tradition of calling on people at their homes the day after dancing with them was brought to modern society, Nicola would like callers to bring brunch, an iced coffee, and a DVD to watch.
• Nicola loves episodes five and six of season three, Tick Tock and Romancing Mister Bridgerton.
• Nicola thinks Penelope wants to continue writing as Lady Whistledown because it's her only power in life. She's lost her best friend and the boy she loves. She's also an outsider in her family and has no agency within society, so writing is how she expresses who she is.
• Nicola claims to not be a good liar. She would rather deal with the consequences of being honest than to keep it in.
• After filming for season three ended, Dave the security guard came up to Luke Newton and Nicola and told them that he was very proud of them and loves their story.
• Nicola doesn't eat pork and dislikes regular sausages. Instead, Nicola loves vegan sausage rolls.
  • Once while on set of Bridgerton, Nicola got a strong hankering for Greggs' vegan sausage roll so she ordered 60. After a long wait, she called the shop and learned that the shop thought her order was a joke, even though she had already paid for them. Nicola brought a bunch of vegan sausage rolls to the drivers, without telling them that they were vegan.
  • One day when Nicola had a different driver, instead of her usual driver Mickey, the new driver referred to Nicola as 'sausage roll girl', which is how she found out that was her nickname amongst the drivers.
• Nicola prefers savory over sweet food.
• Nicola likes eating Tayto crisps, especially in a sandwich with Kerrygold butter.
• Nicola dislikes jellied eels. She thinks they are an abomination and a crime.
• Nicola once did a play where she had to eat a full scotch egg in every performance. She dislikes scotch eggs and pickled eggs.
• When Nicola was five, she had a crush on a five-year-old boy in Cork, Ireland. She thought the most romantic thing she could do was to send him her baby teeth and a letter.
• Nicola had a diary when she was 16, which she now thinks is embarrassing when she reads it.
• If Bridgerton were to cast a music icon, Nicola and Luke Newton would want it to be Harry Styles. They think he would get along with Benedict.
• Nicola once unintentionally did an impression of Lady Whistledown when doing a voiceover for a Netflix Tudum promo.
• Nicola and Luke travelled to Bowral, Australia to celebrate the release of season three. They attended the first screening of the first episode of season three, met fans, and did photoshoots.
• Nicola considers her hobby to be the internet.
• In Bowral, Australia, Luke and Nicola made Regency-inspired flower crowns. If Nicola were to send flowers to someone, she would send peonies. They are her favorite type of flower because they are chunky.
• If Nicola was in Regency times and there was a gossip pamphlet, she would subscribe to it and pass Luke a second-hand copy.
• If Nicola had a gossip pamphlet in Regency times, she would name it The Irish Peasant's Journal.
• Nicola often gets in trouble with her mother for saying inappropriate things in interviews.
• Nicola thinks X is a dumb name for Twitter.
• Nicola thinks a modern-day Penelope would wear something soft and romantic, like Prada.
• Nicola was initially afraid to film the intimate scenes, but they later became some of her favorite things to film.
• In preparation for the intimate scenes in season three, Nicola and Luke worked with an intimacy coordinator, who helped create a framework where the actors felt safe, respected, and open. The actors could choose what to do and what not to show.
• One time when Nicola was at Heathrow Airport, she walked out of the bathroom and saw a girl in a Polin t-shirt. The girl instantly recognized Nicola.
• Nicola refers to Bridgerton fans as "horny little devils."
• Nicola thinks it's attractive when people own who they are and have inner confidence and talent. She loves Penelope's growth and that she has become someone who knows she is an amazing writer, finds worth in herself, allows herself to feel desirable and knows that she is.
• In college, Nicola often showed up to parties uninvited.
• Nicola has had crushes on fellow cast members before, though not on Bridgerton.
• Nicola has googled herself before.
• Nicola first read the fourth Bridgerton book, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, when they were filming season one, but began confusing book characters with show characters. One time, Ellen Mirojnick, the costume designer, asked who Penelope's sisters were and the only sister Nicola could remember was Felicity. Now, Nicola only reads the book for the upcoming season.
• Nicola has gone skinny dipping before and she cannot swim.
• Nicola once worked at a restaurant where someone dined and dashed. The customer left a backpack and pretended he needed to get money. He never returned and they discovered the bag was filled with paper. Nicola found the experience exciting, as her job was boring.
• Nicola takes pub quizzes very seriously.
• When Nicola was 19, she was on a voiceover series. She recorded a few episodes, but the producers couldn't agree on how they wanted Nicola to say the lines, so she ended up recording around 10 versions of the same line. Before leaving for San Francisco, she called the producers and learned that she had been replaced.
• Nicola has accidentally revealed a secret because she forgot it was a secret.
• Nicola has cheated in a game, left someone on read, forgotten birthdays, and used someone else's Netflix account before.
• Nicola is thrilled that season three was released in two parts because it takes so much work and such a long to time to film, and it bothers Nicola that people binge the show in a few hours.
• Nicola has faked being sick to get out of school, but not work.
• When Nicola worked in retail, she got norovirus for the first time, but they didn't believe she was sick and said she had to go to work.
• Nicola has never used a pickup line before.
  • While at a pub for Luke's birthday, a drunk man came out of the bathroom and yelled, "Your eyes are unbelievable" at Nicola, while he was still doing up his trousers.
• While filming season three of Bridgerton, Nicola was very busy and forgot her sister's birthday on December 6. At the end of the day when she realized what day it was, she felt horrible.
• Nicola has never been on a blind date before.
• Nicola once sent a dish back to the kitchen, which was difficult for her to do.
• While working at a restaurant, Nicola realized that wait staff ask customers if everything is okay so customers can tell them is something is wrong with the food. She previously thought the wait staff just asked that to be nice.
  • Nicola finds it annoying when customers finish their entire plate and then tell the wait staff that they didn't like the food.
• Nicola changed Penelope's voice over the seasons. In season one, Nicola gave Penelope a girlier and shyer voice, since it was her first season out in society. In season two, she lowered the tone of her voice to show that Penelope was more confident. In season three, Penelope's voice was more grounded to show that she was a woman.
• Nicola no longer uses Twitter, to protect her mental health. She previously struggled to deal with reading thousands of opinions people had about her online. She is also bored by the "lack of nuance" on Twitter.
• The first thing Nicola does when she wakes up is look at Instagram on her phone, until she realizes she is late and gets up.
• The first designer piece Nicola bought was a Marc Jacobs flap pouchette handbag. The bag is brown, has a bird on it and is made with soft leather. Nicola saved up to buy it and still has it now. It is very old now, because she loved it and wore it a lot.
• Nicola's first celebrity crush was Fred Savage, also known as Kevin Arnold, from The Wonder Years.
• At 13, Nicola was an exam invigilator who chaperoned students to the toilet to ensure they weren't cheating. She was a small 13-year-old, but the students were all 17 to 18 years old, so it was unlikely she would be able to do anything if they did cheat.
• Nicola used to drink Nescafé coffee with her friend and think they were cool businesswomen.
• The first red carpet event Nicola went to was the 2019 BAFTAs, which was intimidating for her. Nicola wore a pink dress from Selfridges and shoes from New Look. She later got slated in the press who said she had the worst dress.
• Nicola's first time being starstruck was at the 2019 BAFTAs. She met Jane Krakowski from 30 Rock, who according to Nicola, gives one of the greatest comic performances as Jenna Maroney. Jane was very nice and Nicola was in awe of her.
• When Nicola first started using Instagram, she didn't realize it was public and thought it was just a photo editing app. Luckily she only posted three relatively normal selfies, which she has since archived.
• A Bridgerton costume that Nicola distinctly remembers from fittings is the butterfly dress which she wore to the first ball of the show, the Danbury ball. That dress made an appearance in season three, where Penelope asks for it to be put in a certain place. Nicola is excited for hard core fans to see the dress again in season three.
• During university, Nicola lived overseas twice.
  • Nicola spent a summer in San Francisco, which was the first time she moved away from home. Even though the hostel was terrible, she felt like Carrie Bradshaw, because she was working in the middle of the city and she felt very cool. Nicola describes San Francisco as a beautiful, open place where she met a lot of trans people.
  • A few months after living in San Francisco, Nicola lived in Malta in a student apartment with people from all over the world. It was near a swimming pool and Nicola thought it was very cool. She didn't do any university work while she was there, but had a lot of fun.
• Nicola, Hannah and Claudia went to Amsterdam in 2024, for the season three press tour. They did interviews and a photoshoot with ELLE Nederland. It was Nicola and Claudia's first time in Amsterdam. The first night they arrived, they went on a canal boat trip and Nicola loved looking in people's apartment windows. Nicola loves old world architecture and thinks Amsterdam is beautiful.
• Nicola's favorite series are 30 Rock and seasons one to three of Arrested Development. Nicola can rewatch the entire 30 Rock series endlessly.
• Nicola's comfort food is bread. She loves eating it. Bread with good butter is one of her biggest joys in life. Nicola loves Irish soda bread, sourdough, and Italian bread (other than focaccia).
• Nicola thinks the biggest fashion crime is wearing clothes that don't fit right, like trousers that are too tight across the thigh and trousers that bundle up at the bottom. However, Nicola admits that wears sweatpants all the time.
• Nicola's uber rating is 4.82, though she wants it to be a 5. She claims to be polite in ubers and always rates her drivers a 5, unless they're appalling. Nicola is sometimes quiet in ubers because she's going through her emails.
• Nicola's favorite thing about Penelope is how witty and observant she is. She thinks Penelope is a good judge of human nature.
• Nicola's favorite piece of clothing is the dress she wore to the Barbie premiere, which she has upstairs in her house. It's designed by Jackson Wiederhoeft.
• Nicola's coffee order is a decaf iced latte with semi-skimmed milk.
• Nicola's favorite beauty product is face cream. If she washes her face and doesn't immediately put on cream, it feels itchy and sore, so she loves when her skin feels really moisturized. Before she goes to bed, she puts on skin cream and eye cream - which she calls "butter baby."
• If Nicola could play another Bridgerton character, she would play Benedict, because he gets to have a lot of fun and explores the Bohemian art world. She would also like to play Queen Charlotte, though the wigs are heavy and would put pressure on her neck.
• Nicola watches the 1994 version of the Little Women movie every Christmas. She has also seen the other version of the movie. Anything with Diane Keaton, such as Father of the Bride and Baby Boom, Nicola finds soothing for her soul.
• Nicola enjoys watching reality TV shows, such as Married at First Sight Australia, Vanderpump Rules, Love Island and The Real Housewives.
  • Nicola wants to be on Married at First Sight Australia and hang out with Lucinda Light, because she likes the way she talks.
  • If someone were to narrate Nicola's life, she would like it to be Lisa Barlow from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, because Nicola loves her voice.
  • Nicola thinks Lisa Vanderpump and Sonja Morgan would fit well in the Bridgerton universe and get Diamond of the Season. Sonja Morgan sent Nicola her phone number.
  • Nicola's New York accent sounds more like a New Jersey accent because she watches The Real Housewives.
• Nicola wants some Gen Z trends, such as low-rise jeans and plucking off eyebrows, to be left in the past where they belong. Nicola has made those mistakes in the past and has photos that would scare people.
• The older Nicola has gotten, the less embarrassed she has become about things. She thinks life is too short and doesn't see the point.
• Nicola once portrayed one of the witches in a production of Macbeth at university. It was a promenade performance, so they started off in a field outside the quadrangle in the university. At the end, they were meant to run in the building and Nicola ran so fast that she landed flat on her face in front of the audience.
• Nicola's favorite scenes in season three are two-hander scenes, with one other actor. She enjoyed developing the characters together with Luke Newton.
• Nicola thinks the best way to feel confident is to fake it until you make it. She thinks that people often worry and judge themselves and sometimes if you pretend for long enough, it becomes real.
• Season three of Bridgerton is the first time Nicola played a romantic role. Simone Ashley, who portrays Kate, and Phoebe Dynevor, who portrays Daphne, both made it known to Nicola that they would be there for her if she needed them. Nicola is willing to be there for whoever the next female romantic lead is, even though she doesn't know who she is yet.
• Nicola and Luke think it's really sweet when people think they are dating in real life.
• According to Nicola, the butterfly dress that Penelope wore in the episode A Bee in Your Bonnet smelled really weird, like tweed.
• When Nicola was young, she drew pictures of her idols, like the Olsen twins and Avril Lavigne. The drawings are still at her mother's house because she can't bear to throw them out.
• Nicola's eyes are different sizes.
• Nicola thinks her favorite color is purple.
• For Nicola's Debs (debutante ball), similar to a prom, she had a purple dress made and thought she was very fancy and cool.
• Nicola and Claudia made each other Peneloise necklaces.
• Nicola loves the word "cloche" because it's fun to say.
• The first time Nicola had coriander, or cilantro, was at the age of 19 in San Francisco, and she liked the flavor.
• Nicola likes green apple flavor.
• Nicola likes the Mandy Moore song "Candy."
• In 2024, Nicola had a Jolly Rancher for the first time. She tried one with green apple flavor. She liked it and found it very chewy.
• Nicola doesn't think she would be a good hairdresser.
• When Nicola was a teenager, she hated getting her hair done so much that she could cry, but she would never tell anyone. Even if the hairdressers shaved half her head, she would lie about liking it.
• Nicola purposely differentiates the way Penelope holds herself while chilling at home and when she is in the presence of the queen. This is because when historical adviser Hannah Greig worked with the cast at the beginning of season one, she showed many historical pictures. One picture of three ladies lounging on a couch stood out to Nicola, because it showed that people back then chilled, laid back on couches and put their feet up, despite the gilded dresses and interior.
• Nicola re-read the Julia Quinn books a lot. She read the fourth book, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, a lot to get as much of an insight into Penelope as possible. Penelope is much older in the book, so Nicola had to take anecdotal things of what Penelope was like when she was young. Nicola's preparation was mostly in the physicality of Penelope.
  • Nicola thinks of Penelope as a yo-yo in season one, where she would go out to say something and then pull it back.
  • In season two, Nicola wanted Penelope to have more of an arrogance about her, but a bit misplaced, because she's the most famous person in London, but no one knows who she is. Penelope has convinced herself that she and Colin are having a love story, even though they are not.
  • In season three, Nicola wanted Penelope to be more grounded, like a young woman and becoming more comfortable with herself.
• When portraying Penelope, Nicola wanted to show her innocence, but not undermine her intelligence. Nicola thinks a lot of the mistakes actors make is when they are much older than the character they play is that they try to patronize, not see young people as fully rounded human beings and play it as a silly baby.
• Nicola sees similarities between Penelope and Clare from Derry Girls. Both are both quite bookish and smart, but Clare has a lot of frantic, frenetic energy, speaks very fast and cannot keep anything in, while Penelope is more grounded, observes more and keeps everything in.
• Nicola adores the dance lessons, which are central to the show.
  • Penelope's first dance with Colin in season one is called the Siege of Ennis, which is a famous Irish dance that Nicola has known since she was a little girl.
  • Penelope's dance with Colin in season two was inspired by the tango. During the dance, there are times when they turn and don't see each other, which according to Nicola, reflects what was going on in their relationship at the time.
  • According to Nicola, during Penelope's dance with Lord Debling, she sees that a man finally sees her as a romantic prospect and as a woman, which Colin sees as well.
• While filming season three, Nicola worked long days for eight months. Nicola's schedule was:
  • 4:00am - car pickup
    • Nicola would usually get up the very last minute, shower the night before, have her bag, water, and script ready. Nicola likes to keep her scripts in spring binders so they hold them together.
    • Nicola keeps the scripts for two episodes at a time, because episodes are usually filmed two at a time.
  • 5:00am - arrival
  • 5:15am - hair and makeup
    • Hair and makeup involved getting the wig on and doing the face masks and makeup.
  • 6:00am - read script
    • During the two hours of hair and makeup, Nicola would read over her script and take Polaroids of every look to document them.
  • 7:30am - rehearsal
    • Nicola would go down to set to do the director's rehearsal and crew rehearsal.
  • 8:00am - shooting begins
  • 6:00pm - wrap shooting
    • They usually filmed around two scenes per day.
  • 6:15pm - de-wig hair and makeup
  • 7:00pm - car home
    • On the 1-2 hour journey home, Nicola would look at the scripts for the next day.
  • 8:30pm - arrive home and sleep
• The hot air balloon scene in the episode Forces of Nature was initially not scripted as intensely as it was. In the original script, the hot air balloon came in Penelope's direction and Lord Debling whisked her away. The producers later decided to make it a full stunt, so Nicola and Sam Phillips had to do stunt rehearsals for it, which involved Nicola throwing herself onto a crash mat and Sam rugby tackling her. At one point, Sam went in so hardcore that his coat stuck to Nicola's wig and they were attached to each other.
• Nicola really adores that season three included some funny parts for Penelope, because she has often been a sad character. Nicola enjoyed being able to portray Penelope as a goof who realizes how terrible she is with men and deals with insecurities that manifest in funny ways. Those moments allowed Nicola to be slightly off the book and take her time, which Nicola loved.
• Nicola realized that when she plays Penelope, she unintentionally blinks a lot.
• Nicola thinks she doesn't have a cute crying face, after seeing herself cry in shows.
• Nicola loves that season three shows Penelope's transformation through her wardrobe. Nicola explains that Penelope initially wore garish colors. When she wore the emerald outfit, Penelope felt that she stood out too much, so she later wore soft blue colors. Penelope's physical and mental transformation then starts to blend together over time.
• Nicola related to Penelope in season one, when Penelope was the shy girl in the corner, watching the boy she liked dance with someone else, as Nicola experienced this as a teenager.
• Nicola can relate to Penelope dealing with sudden fame when she is revealed to be Lady Whistledown, as Nicola also experienced sudden fame from Bridgerton.
• Nicola thinks Bridgerton raises people's standards for love and romance.
• During the premiere of season three, Nicola's family was in Galway. Nicola's best friends' little sister made eye covers with Nicola's face on one cover and Luke on the other, so they could raise them and cover their eyes.
• Nicola has seen people watch Bridgerton and Derry Girls on flights.
• Nicola and Luke have been asked by many fans about how to go from friends to lovers.
  • Nicola's advice is to ask a bunch of people in the group what they think, like market research, to see if becoming lovers may screw things up or if there is a vibe there.
• Nicola always cries at weddings. She loves love and always has lots of tissues when witnessing weddings.
  • Nicola's advice for people witnessing weddings is to bring gum in case someone is worried their breath stinks.
• Nicola forgot season three of Bridgerton had premiered until she received texts congratulating her.
• Nicola sends thirst trap TikToks of Colin to Luke Newton. Nicola would save the TikToks, with the intention of sending them to Luke at a convenient time. Unbeknownst to Nicola, the fans received notifications when Nicola saved their TikToks and the fans questioned what it meant.
• Nicola and Luke Newton send each other Polin fan edits all the time. While in Verona, Nicola and Luke watched a Polin fan edit, showing their journey throughout show, and they got emotional.
• If Nicola could pick anyone from Hollywood to be diamond of the season, she would pick Maya Rudolph. Nicola really wants Maya to play Queen Charlotte on SNL.
• In season three, Nicola's confidence grew in finding herself in her work and being a leading lady, while Penelope's confidence grew in her finding herself in a relationship.
• Nicola thinks Penelope's favorite song from Taylor Swift's album, The Tortured Poets Department, would be Fortnight (feat. Post Malone).
• Nicola's favorite friends-to-lovers movie is When Harry Met Sally…. Nicola wants more of Billy Crystal-type men in romantic-comedy movies.
• Nicola and Claudia's favorite on-screen kiss is between Jess and Nick in New Girl. Nicola loved the kiss so much that she watched their interviews about the kiss. In Nicola and Luke's group chat, they sent each other videos of romantic scenes in preparation for the first Polin kiss and Nicola sent a video of Jess and Nick's kiss. The kiss inspired one of Colin and Penelope's later kisses.
• Nicola thinks that when a woman drops their handkerchief, it's nice to pick it up and hand it to her.
• Nicola sometimes tells people that Ed Sheeran wrote the song Galway Girl about her. Sometime they believe her and it becomes awkward.
• Nicola has always felt a sense of possibility and open frontier when she is standing on the coast of Galway, because the next thing to the west is America.
• At Nicola's home in Galway, she has items from important moments in her career.
  • Nicola has a copy of a student newsletter where was showcased on a "ones to watch" list, upon graduating from drama school. However, Nicola admits she didn't achieve much for several years after graduation.
  • Nicola has a copy of the script from the play Jess and Joe Forever. She loves the play and has special memories of it because she signed with her agent from that play. Her first audition after that was for Derry Girls. Shondaland then saw Nicola on Derry Girls and contacted her about Bridgerton.
  • Nicola has a notebook with "Clare" written on the front, which she used when auditioning for Derry Girls. Inside, she wrote about Clare's personality, clothes and important things in her life.
  • Nicola has a folder filled with Derry Girls scripts.
• When Nicola learned Julie Andrews had been cast as the voice for Lady Whistledown, Nicola cried and thought it was crazy.
• When Nicola prepared for school plays, she would draw pictures of what she thought the characters looked like. She would decide what clothes and accessories they would wear and what that meant, and what their voices sounded like.
• When Nicola portrayed Clare on Derry Girls, she had to talk quite fast, because Clare was a nervous person.
• When Nicola was little, she had The Wizard of Oz on a VHS tape. When Kieran babysat Nicola, she watched the movie over and over again, from start to finish.
• According to Nicola's sister Clodagh, Nicola was independent growing up and had her own ideas about how to do things. Nicola would go to her room, create things and show it to her siblings.
  • Nicola's sister called her "Spielberg" because Nicola had a very uncompromising vision for her videos. Nicola thinks she was more like Orson Welles, in that she was a bit of a tyrant.
  • Nicola did mimes for a speech and drama exam, one of which involved making a sandwich.
  • In 2013, Nicola's former drama teacher Edel visited Nicola when she was working in a soap shop at Covent Garden in London. Nicola told Edel about some fringe plays she was in.
  • In school, Nicola learned the works of Jane Austen. 25 years later, Nicola visited her primary school and was still able to recite an extract from Jane Austen's Emma.
  • There is a photo of Nicola on the dream board at Scoil Mhuire, so students can aspire to her.
• Nicola has known her best friend, Maeve, since she was seven years old. When they were kids, they made many videos together, directed by Nicola.
  • Nicola and Maeve made Spice Girls videos. Nicola was Posh Spice while Maeve was Baby Spice and Sporty Spice.
• When Nicola was young, she went to Coole Park in Galway a lot. She thinks it's beautiful, magical, and looks like the kind of place that lords, ladies, kings, queens and fairies would visit.
• For the season three press tour, Nicola and Luke went to Brazil, where they watched a Bridgerton version of Brazilian funk.
• Sometimes Nicola and Luke cannot recognize the actors who portray the lords and ladies after they change into their normal clothes, because they look completely different.
  • Nicola and Luke both think Bert Seymour, who portrays Lord Fife, looks like a time traveller from the past. Bert had a fake mullet in season two.
• Nicola is a fan of Saturday Night Live (SNL). A few days after Derry Girls was first released, Nicola paid for a trip to 30 Rockefeller Plaza and did a tour of Studio 8H, where SNL is filmed. At the end of the tour, the guide informed the visitors that they could make their own chat show. Everyone was really shy, so Nicola volunteered to do it, thinking that no one would recognize her. At the end, someone came up to Nicola and said that they loved her on Derry Girls.
• During Oscars weekend in February 2020, while Nicola was in Los Angeles her friend, Jonathan van Ness, who was hosting the Elton John Oscar Party, invited Nicola to the event. Nicola needed to be back on set after the party and assured the crew that she would be fine. She ended up falling asleep on set.
• Nicola thinks Penelope's interests are reading, writing and staring longingly out of windows.
• Nicola thinks Penelope's biggest ick would be wearing flashy, over the top outfits.
• Nicola thinks the qualities that Penelope looks for in a partner are kind, tall, lives near, brown hair and wears a pirate coat.
• According to Nicola, Penelope is 20 years old, as of season three.
• Nicola thinks Penelope's love language would be words of affirmation.
• Nicola thinks Penelope's modern-family favorite musical artist would be Taylor Swift and would also like "Dancing on My Own" by Robyn.
  • Nicola thinks Colin's modern-day favorite movies would be Eat, Pray, Love and sexy French films .

External Links

• Nicola Coughlan on IMDb
• Nicola Coughlan on Wikipedia
• Nicola Coughlan on Twitter
• Nicola Coughlan on Instagram