Simone Ashwini Pillai (born 30 March 1995), known professionally as Simone Ashley, is an English actress. On television, she is best known for her roles as Kate Bridgerton in the Netflix period drama Bridgerton (2022–present) and Olivia Hanan in the comedy-drama Sex Education (2019–2021). Her film roles include Picture This, This Tempting Madness, and The Devil Wears Prada 2.
In 2024, Ashley received the Golden Nymph Award for Most Promising Talent from the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
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Early life
Born Simone Ashwini Pillai to Indian Tamil-speaking parents Latha and Gunasekharan Pillai, Ashley is from Camberley, Surrey, and has an older brother, Sean Pillai. Ashley has spoken about how despite growing up in a household of academics, she was always drawn more towards the creative fields. Her parents were hesitant about her inclination to the arts. "My parents were quite protective over me", she told Glamour. "They're first generation. They came from India to this country, so they didn't really have a life where they could choose to be whatever they wanted." Ashley grew up singing classical music, opera, and playing the piano.
