Nicola Coughlan is an Irish actress known for her work in the British TV series, Derry Girls (2018), and Bridgerton (2020).
Wiki/Biography
Nicola Coughlan was born on Friday, January 9, 1987 (age 33 years; as in 2020), in Galway, Ireland. Her zodiac sign is Capricorn.
Nicola Coughlan as a Child
She did a foundation course in acting from The Oxford School of Drama, England, and a full-time course in acting from Birmingham School of Acting, England. She took her degree in English and Classical Civilisation from the National University of Ireland, Galway.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5’ 1”
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Blonde
Family & Ethnicity
Her father was an army man. She is the youngest of the four siblings; she has an elder brother, Kieran Coughlan, and an elder sister, Clodagh Geraghty.
Nicola Coughlan with her Sister
Childhood Picture of Nicola Couglan with her brother
Career
In 2004, she made her acting debut with the short film “The Phantom Cnut” as ‘Katie.’
Nicola Coughlan in The Phantom Cnut
She made her TV debut with the role of ‘Marrie Callaghan’ in the 2012 British series, Doctors.
She made her breakthrough with the lead role of ‘Clare Devlin’ in the series, Derry Girls (2018).
She has also acted in the series, Harlots (2018), and Bridgerton (2020). She made her theater debut with the role of ‘Kristy’ in the play ‘Chapel Street’ at the Scrawl Theatre Company UK Tour. She has acted in the plays, Duck (2014), Jess and Joe Forever (2015-17), Nadya (2015), and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (2018).
Nicola Coughlan in a Scene from a Theater Play
She has also dubbed for various TV shows and films – The Fairytaler (2004-05), Summer of the Flying Saucer (2008), Simsala Grimm (2010), Thor: Legend of the Magical Hammer (2011), and Ivan the Incredible (2012).
Awards & Achievements
- The Stage Ones to Watch 2011 for the play “Graduation Showcase”
- Evening Standard Magazine Rising Stars 2018 for the play “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie”
- Joe Annual Comedy Awards for ‘Derry Girls’ in 2019
Nicola Coughlan – Winner of Joe Annual Comedy Awards
Controversies
- In 2019, Daily Mirror (a British daily tabloid) published an article on worst-dressed women at BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Awards) TV Awards, which also highlighted Nicola’s style. A Twitter user condemned the newspaper citing it for “contributing to the persistent degradation of women.” To this, Nicola responded,
I mean incorrect @DailyMirror I look smokin’, sorry ’bout it.”
After this, many actresses showed their support to Nicola in the case. [1]
- In 2018, Philip Fisher (a Theater Reviewer) of the British Theatre Guide reviewed the play, ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,’ and referred to Nicola’s character as an ‘overweight little girl.’ It wasn’t the first time Philip had done that, in fact, a year ago, he had called Nicola a ‘fat girl,’ when his remarks were of no relevance to the review. After the incident, Nicola decided to reply to him and tweeted, [2]
Hi @BritTheatreGuid, for the second time your reviewer Philip Fisher has come to see a show I’m in, and as part of reviewing the show he has also reviewed my body. How can you continue to support this? I was in a show called Jess and Joe Forever @traversetheatre last August which he came to see and his opening sentence was “Jess is a fat girl” My weight has no relevance to either the performance I gave in that or in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Let me state this clearly, he is not welcome to review any show I am in from now till forever. And I plan to be in a lot of damn shows. Peace.”
Favorite Things
- Food: Curry Chips, Chicken Wraps, Nachos
- Films: Lady Bird (2017), Call Me By Your Name (2017), The Wizard of Oz series, Star Wars original trilogy
- TV Shows: A Very English Scandal series, Ordeal by Innocence series, Maniac (2018), Queer Eye (2018), PEN15 (2019)
- Actor: Andrew Scott
- Actresses: Saoirse Ronan, Sarah Greene, Seana Kerslake, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon
- Screenwriters: Jack Thorne, Nicole Taylor, Sarah Phelp
- Restaurants: Wahaca in the UK, Supermacs in Galway
- Musical: Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Books: Biographies of Judi Dench and Helen Mirren, ‘I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawings, Vulnerabilities, and Other Stuff’ by Abbi Jacobson
- Artists: Rob Ryan, David Shrigley
Facts/Trivia
- In her spare time, she likes to cook, read biographies, and watch TV shows and films.
- When she was studying in Galway, she participated in ‘Acting Up,’ the National University Improvisation Competition, where she was awarded the Outstanding Individual Performance Award.
- After completing her foundation course in acting at the Oxford School of Drama, she worked as a receptionist in a physio clinic, before getting enrolled at Birmingham School of Acting, England.
- She is best friends with the American hairdresser, podcaster, and television personality Jonathan Van Ness.
Nicola Coughlan with Jonathan Van Ness
- She is an active philanthropist and is seen standing up for the LGBTQ+ community, challenging trolls on social media, fighting for reproductive rights in Northern Ireland, calling out bully tabloids for body-shaming celebrity women, fighting racism, and raising awareness for climatic changes wherever and whenever she can.
Nicola Coughlan Donating Funs for Black Lives Matter Campaign
- In December 2019, Coughlan endorsed the Labour Party in the 2019 general elections and laid her full support to the party through her social media accounts.
