Simone Ashley

Simone Ashwini Pillai (born 30 March 1995), known professionally as Simone Ashley, is a British actress. She is best known for her roles in the Netflix series Sex Education (2019–present), and Bridgerton (2022–present).

Born to Indian Tamil parents Latha and Gunasekharan Pillai, Ashley is from Camberley, Surrey and has an older brother.[3][4] Ashley has spoken about how despite growing up in a household of academics, she was always drawn more towards the creative fields.[5] Her parents were hesitant about her inclination to the arts. “My parents were quite protective over me,” she told Glamour Magazine. “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.”[3] Ashley grew up singing classical music and opera and playing piano.[6] The family later moved to Beaconsfield whilst Ashley attended Redroofs Theatre School in Maidenhead for sixth form.[7][5] She went on to train in acting at Arts Educational School in London