Nicola Coughlan

Nicola Mary Coughlan (born 9 January 1987) is an Irish actress. She is known for her roles as Clare Devlin in the Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls (2018–2022) and Penelope Featherington in the Netflix period drama Bridgerton (2020–).

Coughlan was born on 9 January 1987 in Galway, Ireland, and grew up in Oranmore.[1][2] At the age of 5, when watching her older sister performing in a school play, she decided to be an actress.[3] She attended Scoil Mhuire for primary school and Calasanctius College for secondary school.[4][5] She graduated with a degree in English and Classical Civilisation from the National University of Ireland, Galway.[2][6] She then went on to train in England at the Oxford School of Drama and Birmingham School of Acting. She lives in London.