{"id":551151,"date":"2026-04-26T05:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T05:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/551151\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T05:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T05:10:12","slug":"meet-simone-ashley-the-new-british-star-of-the-devil-wears-prada-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/551151\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Simone Ashley, the new British star of The Devil Wears Prada\u00a02"},"content":{"rendered":"

Simone Ashley is struggling to focus. Maybe it\u2019s her circadian rhythm playing catch-up with a schedule that recently took her to nine countries in four weeks, from Australia to South Africa. Perhaps it\u2019s the looming release of The Devil Wears Prada 2, her latest film, which will cement her place alongside cinema royalty Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. Or it could be the toddlers running riot around our table at the Notting Hill outpost of Soho House.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, those kids are so distracting,\u201d she says with a laugh. Any suggestion of moving to a quieter spot is waved off. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be the person who tells kids to stop playing. What were we saying?\u201d We were discussing the small matter of joining the megawatt cast of one of Hollywood\u2019s most-anticipated sequels, the follow-up to the film that gave us some of cinema\u2019s most quotable lines (\u201cFlorals? For Spring? Groundbreaking\u201d) and taught a generation of women what cerulean blue looks like. To borrow the words of Miranda Priestly, the steely magazine editor played by Streep: \u201cA million girls would kill for this job.\u201d And Ashley got it.<\/p>\n

\t\tUnzipped! with Simone Ashley: watch the actress talk about her fashion favourites and fails<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old was already accustomed to projects that come with life-changing visibility. In 2022 her turn as Bridgerton<\/a>\u2019s leading lady in series two broke streaming records and fast-tracked her into a world of fashion week front rows and magazine covers \u2014 the kind of fame that, for a while, meant she couldn\u2019t leave the house unnoticed. Today, the solution is a celebrity incognito-mode staple: a Martine Rose baseball cap, Burberry jeans, baby blue Adidas Sambas and a tan, faux fur-trimmed Charlotte Simone coat.<\/p>\n

A blockbuster was always next on her to-do list. Ashley just wasn\u2019t sure what it would be. She floated the idea of every genre from action, \u00e0 la Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, to musicals that would give her childhood opera training a chance to shine. \u201cI\u2019d never really thought of something like The Devil Wears Prada,\u201d she says, carefully pouring mint tea from an unwieldy teapot. \u201cWhen I got the call to audition, it was such a penny-drop moment. My team and I were like, yeah.\u201d Her eyes widen. \u201cSlam dunk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BritishTop, \u00a321,250, and skirt, \u00a31,600, Bottega Veneta. Mules, \u00a3870, Ferragamo. Iconica rose gold earrings with diamonds, \u00a316,550, and rose gold ring, \u00a32,300, PomellatoSimons Finnerty for the sunday times<\/p>\n

\"BritishLace-trimmed bodysuit, \u00a3740, draped skirt, \u00a31,395, and coat, \u00a33,545, Chlo\u00e9. Shoes, price on application, Victoria Beckham. Tiffany HardWear yellow gold earrings, \u00a34,225, Tiffany & CoSimons Finnerty for the sunday times<\/p>\n

The call came less than a year ago, followed by a meeting with the original film\u2019s returning director, David Frankel. Then silence. It wasn\u2019t until weeks later, while having dinner with her best friend, that she found out she\u2019d got the part of Amari, Priestly\u2019s new \u201cfirst assistant\u201d. \u201cI was really emotional \u2014 I\u2019ve never reacted that way when getting a role before,\u201d she says. Within a month she\u2019d packed her bags and moved to New York to start shooting.<\/p>\n

It was the beginning of a new era for Ashley \u2014 just turned 30, in a new city and hungry for a fresh challenge. The surreal pinch-me moments came thick and fast: stepping into the fictional fashion magazine offices of Runway for the first time; meeting and mingling with the cast, which also includes Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci; filming in Milan and on the streets of New York, where fans waited for hours to get a glimpse of the stars in action. \u201cPeople found out where we were filming, whether it was inside or outside. It was kind of crazy.\u201d The feverish appetite for this sequel cannot be overstated: after a two-decade wait since the original film, the first full-length trailer quickly became the most-watched in 20th Century Studios\u2019 history.<\/p>\n

Ashley was 11 when the first film came out \u2014 which is to say, she gets the hype. \u201cThe minute you start seeing the 4am phone calls [Anne Hathaway\u2019s character gets from her boss] and having to get copies [of the unpublished Harry Potter manuscript], it\u2019s just: what happens next? You\u2019re in for the ride.\u201d The sequel promises the same drama, updated for a modern media landscape that\u2019s battling declining print sales and advertising revenue. \u201cIt\u2019s coming out at a really important time. It will speak very truthfully about what\u2019s happening in fashion at the moment,\u201d Ashley says. \u201cThere are budget cuts in all industries. \u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"SimoneAshley with Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada 2Macall Polay\/20th Century Studios<\/p>\n

She is careful not to reveal any spoilers, but luckily fashion is a safe topic. She spent hours in fittings, building her character\u2019s style with the former Sex and the City costume designer Molly Rogers. \u201cMy character is professional, but I wanted to bring a youthfulness and aliveness to her.\u201d They landed on a wardrobe full of Thom Browne. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely preppy. I wanted her to be aspirational, making sure she fitted in with these beloved characters in the movie, following in their footsteps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long days on set were spent negotiating between standing in reverence to her castmates \u2014 \u201cliterally the greatest actors of all time\u201d \u2014 and carving her own space within the established dynamic. Streep was \u201cwonderful\u201d, \u201cfriendly\u201d, \u201cgracious\u201d and \u201cintelligent\u201d, so awe-inspiring to watch that Ashley can\u2019t quite put the experience into words. Meanwhile, Hathaway \u2014 or \u201cAnnie\u201d \u2014 has become a close friend. There wasn\u2019t much time for socialising during production, but the pair stayed in touch after filming wrapped last October. \u201cI just remember how welcoming she was on my first day. She\u2019s an incredibly genuine person. I\u2019m very grateful for the friendship we developed on set.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ashley felt so at home in New York that she decided to stay, after ten years of bouncing around flats in London. \u201cThere\u2019s a big part of London where I still feel very much like a kid, but New York encourages you to be more confident, more upfront.\u201d When she was growing up her family would often travel from their home in Camberley, Surrey, to visit relatives in LA. As soon as she was old enough she moved out there on her own, armed with the kind of youthful determination only a 16-year-old could have, chasing her big break in Tinseltown. \u201cI didn\u2019t have to do it \u2014 in an age of streaming, you don\u2019t have to be in Hollywood to work in Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SimoneLeather top, \u00a33,310, and knit skirt, \u00a33,310, Ala\u00efa. Antifer pink gold earrings, \u00a3810, and matching pink gold pendant with diamonds, \u00a310,800, RepossiSimons Finnerty for the sunday times<\/p>\n

She was born Simone Ashwini Pillai to first-generation immigrants from India. Her mother, an accountant, and her father, a pharmacist, pursued more traditional careers. She credits her rebellious streak to her mother, who had to abandon aspirations of becoming a fighter pilot when she was younger. \u201cI think she saw that in me and was incredibly supportive.\u201d As soon as she started singing lessons at six, Ashley knew the arts were her calling. By her teenage years, \u201cI would write my dreams in my diary, or in letters to myself\u201d. She smiles and shrugs. \u201cIt was just fact. I never wanted to have a smaller life. It wasn\u2019t if, it was when. I knew that I could do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her first big on-screen role, in Netflix\u2019s Sex Education<\/a>, took Ashley to south Wales, not California, when she landed the gig in 2019, nearly a decade after her Hollywood gamble. Before her big break she\u2019d only had bit parts in TV shows such as Broadchurch, Doctors and Casualty. The quiet periods were tough. \u201cWhen you\u2019re an unemployed artist, in the winter especially, it\u2019s really hard. I had to surrender to the idea that this is a period when I have to invest in my personal life and learn not to put all my worth and happiness in whether I\u2019m busy or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BritishCamisole dress, \u00a31,590, and shoes, POA, Victoria Beckham. Tiffany HardWear yellow gold earrings, \u00a34,225, and Elsa Peretti yellow gold Bone Cuff, \u00a324,800, Tiffany & CoSimons Finnerty for the sunday times<\/p>\n

\"CollageFrom left: with Tanya Reynolds in Sex Education; with Jonathan Bailey in BridgertonLiam Daniel\/Netflix<\/p>\n

Being cast as a dark-skinned love interest in Bridgerton<\/a> turned her into a symbol of diversity overnight. \u201cArt is an incredibly political industry \u2014 anything you do, any movie you make. Me being a woman of colour is political whether I like it or not, and I\u2019m proud of that. I love that girls with similar hair or skin to mine can see women that look like me on billboards.\u201d But times have changed, she notes. \u201cNow the temperature is slowly getting towards a place where it\u2019s normalised.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaning into her musical background, Ashley\u2019s debut EP, Songs I Wrote in New York, dropped on April 10, just three weeks before The Devil Wears Prada 2 hits screens. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to sing professionally, whether it was in a musical movie or to release music.\u201d So, three years ago, she sat down with her agents and asked how to make it happen. Since then she has been in the studio with the Grammy-winning producer Fraser T Smith, who has made hits with Adele, Stormzy and Dave. Together they\u2019ve landed on a \u201csoul pop\u201d sound, influenced by Ashley\u2019s sprawling music taste: Sade, Bj\u00f6rk, Yungblud, Madonna, Oasis and Eminem.<\/p>\n

Does this mean a full transformation into Simone Ashley: pop star? Not quite. She\u2019s already working on her next two film projects: the A24 comedy Peaked, starring and directed by The Bear\u2019s Molly Gordon, and the musical rom-com Falling, with Evan Peters and Sam Claflin.<\/p>\n

But first there\u2019s the supersized The Devil Wears Prada 2 press tour to complete. She and her stylist have been planning looks for months. \u201cEvery time we do a red carpet, I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh my God, this is the best look yet.\u2019 It gets more fun, I feel more confident, we push boundaries a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BritishTop, \u00a321,250, Bottega Veneta. Iconica rose gold earrings with diamonds, \u00a316,550, and rose gold ring, \u00a32,300, PomellatoSimons Finnerty for the sunday times<\/p>\n

\"BritishDress, \u00a32,570, and sunglasses, \u00a3385, Saint Laurent by Anthony VaccarelloSimons Finnerty for the sunday times<\/p>\n

When she\u2019s not working, she\u2019s vigilant about protecting her privacy, dodging the \u201cmagnifying glass\u201d of the public eye as best she can \u2014 the internet lost its mind last summer when she was spotted out with the actor Joshua Jackson, for instance. Is she dating now? Ashley smiles politely: \u201cI\u2019m going to keep that private.\u201d<\/p>\n

Happiness is meeting up with the people she loves, walking around the city or going on hikes while travelling. \u201cI\u2019ve ticked the box on a lot of the things I set myself to do,\u201d she says, as if becoming a movie star and releasing an album were a simple side hustle. \u201cI have this feeling \u2014 and my instincts are usually really good \u2014 that in the next few years some exciting new things are going to start happening.\u201d Any hints as to what those might be? Ashley flashes the type of smile that suggests she\u2019s holding a delicious secret and decides, not for the first time, to keep it to herself. \u201cEverything\u2019s just going to align.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is in cinemas from Friday<\/p>\n

Hair Yoko Setoyama at Dawes & Co using L\u2019Or\u00e9al Professional Make-up Nikki Wolff Nails Chisato Yamamoto at Caren Agency using Essie Set design Nicholas Rogers On-set production Town Production<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Simone Ashley is struggling to focus. Maybe it\u2019s her circadian rhythm playing catch-up with a schedule that recently…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-551151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}