Nicola Coughlin, 39, currently has the career of a much younger woman. That’s because she has a babyface and she can pass for characters in their 20s, if not teens. Since she became famous with Derry Girls almost a decade ago, Nicola has been working nonstop – not just on Bridgerton, but assorted TV shows and movies and theater. Nicola covers the latest issue of Elle UK, and she reveals more of her personal life than I’ve ever heard from her, while at the same time remaining pretty guarded. She also talks about how people shouldn’t look to her to be an icon of body positivity. Some highlights:
Living with boyfriend Jake Dunn: ‘I’m not dirty, but I am messy. [It’s] very ADHD in that there’ll be one thing that’s extremely organised, like colour-coordinated wardrobes, and then clothes also on the floor. But, I try, I try, I try. When you live with someone, you have to rein that in.’
She’s happy she wasn’t typecast: ‘I feel very lucky for that. I think there was a risk with Derry Girls being such a success, kind of out of nowhere… It was incredible, but you do have a moment where you go, “Am I going to play this character forever?” I was lucky that Bridgerton came around, because it was really different right away.’
Highlighting humanitarian causes: ‘I was in the era of Twitter when everyone was opining everywhere. I was one of those people, but then I hit a point when I was like, “We’re all shouting opinions and it’s not doing anything effective.” I’m not a politician, but I can raise humanitarian funds.’
Being diagnosed with ADHD in her 30s. ‘I suspected it for a long time, and I think people with it are drawn to other people with it. We just find the conversations more stimulating.’ When she eventually went to a psychiatrist, she was worried she’d brought it on herself: ‘I [asked], “Is this something I’ve done to myself?” Have I just gotten addicted to my smartphone? And he was like, “It’s hereditary,” which a lot of people don’t know.’ The diagnosis has made sense of certain traits: ‘It feels like I got the handbook to my brain that I wasn’t given when I was born. I understand things a bit better now, and I give myself a little more grace.’
Don’t hold her up as a body-positivity advocate: ‘The thing I say sometimes that pisses people off is I have no interest in body positivity. When I was a kid growing up, I never thought about that. I didn’t look at actors and think about their bodies. So, I actually don’t care. There’s a lot of things I’m passionate about, it’s not one of them… That’s someone else’s thing. It’s not mine.’
All of the gross commentary about her body on Bridgerton: ‘You know what was really bizarre was, when I was shooting that series, I was exercising a lot because I knew I had to, so I had lost a bunch of weight – I was probably a size 10 and one of the corsets was a size 8. And then people talked about how I was plus size and I was like, “How f*cked are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen?”’ But it’s a topic that follows her around, even when she’s not working. ‘I remember this really drunk girl once talking to me in a bathroom being like, “I loved [Bridgerton] because of your body.” And started talking about my body, and I was like, “I want to die. I hate this so much…” It’s really hard when you work on something for months and months of your life, you don’t see your family, you really dedicate yourself and then it comes down to what you look like – it’s so f*cking boring.’
Thoughts on her body-positive comments? I’m fine with it. We shouldn’t force women/actresses to talk about their bodies, especially when the woman has a different kind of figure. There are plenty of models and actresses who want to talk about body-positivity too, women who make that issue into their whole deal. And that’s great too – I think it’s wonderful that Ashley Graham is out there, proudly representing the girls who are bigger than sample size. I think Nicola understands that if she positions herself that way, that’s literally all people will ask her about and talk about, rather than her work. It’s also clear that Nicola does not want anything to do with the “plus-sized” label either. Which is also fine. Incidentally, it does feel like “body positivity” as a pop-culture moment is pretty much over because of the now widespread use of GLP-1s.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images. Cover courtesy of Elle UK.
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- 31st SAG Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on February 23, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA,Image: 968229086, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Nicola Coughlan, Credit line: Nicky Nelson/Wenn/Avalon
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- Nicola Coughlan attends the 8th Canneseries International Festival Pink Carpet – Day Five,Image: 993269735, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Olivier Huitel/Avalon
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- Nicola Coughlan attends the BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises 2025, at the Royal Festival Hall in London, England. UK. Sunday 11th May 2025,Image: 998109934, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NORESTRICTIONS, Model Release: no, Pictured: BAFTA Television Awards 2025, Credit line: James Warren/Bang Showbiz/Avalon
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- Celebrities attend a screening of ‘Bridgerton’ season 3 part two, at Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square, London Featuring: Nicola Coughlan Where: London, United Kingdom When: 12 Jun 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Celebrities attend the Fashion Awards 2024, presented by the British Fashion Council, at the Royal Albert Hall in London Featuring: Nicola Coughlan Where: London, United Kingdom When: 02 Dec 2024 Credit: Cover Images
This is GREAT that she pushes back on the whole topic of weight. SOOOO refreshing for someone to say actually I don’t think about it. I second that there are lovely people like Ashley Graham but I would love to hear a few more voices like Nicola’s! You go girl! You are brilliant, beautiful and an amazing actor!!! Love ya!!
I don’t know about her comments about body positivity. Lets be so for real, if a skinny girl said that she’d be crucified.
But it’s different for Nicola to say it precisely because she’s NOT skinny. It would be a different comment coming from the mouth of a skinny girl. Nicola shouldn’t have to feel like a representative for heavier actresses everywhere.
I don’t think a skinny woman would be asked about body positivity.
And I don’t see it occurring to a skinny woman to even want to weigh in on the discussion. It’s not something that comes up in an interview with them, so why would she? If I see someone like Emily Ratjakowski talking about her body, it relates to other issues (ie doing modelling to pay the rent because of the 2008 crisis?), but there’s no way I’ve ever seen her be asked about body positivity. Ditto for Cindy Crawford or whoever else throughout her decades.
I agree. My problem with body positivity is that it still puts so much focus on your body. I think a lot of women and people in general would benefit from focusing on other parts of their identity: brains, talent, career, sense of humor, etc. So I think Nicola’s approach is smart and healthy.
I think it’s great too. May all women be emancipated from discussion of their weight/bodies. May we be free to not give a sh*t about our size! May we resist society’s continuous efforts to compel us to share opinions about our own appearance. Ugh.
She’s correct, and I hate the way that we kind of make people the spokespeople for certain subjects. She doesn’t have to spend her time talking about the perception of people with different body types in the media.
And the interesting thing is, and she alluded to this, is that if you saw her in person you would probably be shocked at her actual size. So many actors are so thin that it warps your view, and when you see them next to someone else on the screen that is more typically sized as the rest of the population they seem plus size and they’re not.
I have seen quite a few “plus size” celebrities in person, they are not what we are imagining. But I’ve also seen ” typical” sized celebrities in person and immediately thought oh my goodness they are so thin. It warps how you view people when they are grouped together on screen.
The problem with lionising “plus sized models” and Nicola is a normal sized actress in a weird fing world, but Ashley Graham used glp1 and has used whatever is available to a very rich and connected model. I followed Ashley for we’ll over 10 years. She dropped a shit ton of weight super fast, got smaller than she’d ever been. Then was posting non stop eating food pics, like super indulgent food, whilst having dropped a lot of weight fast yet never admitting how suddenly, after 3 kids, smaller than ever before, while scoffing crazy food and lots of wine. That has an affect on people. She’s a liar. It totally changed my view of her. It was performative and unhealthy, mentally. After follow her for so many years I couldn’t with this bs any more. That’s the issue, it’s the lies, like Oprah. Oprah lied and lied until she had fess up. What all this is doing to young women i can’t imagine.
I’m not gonna criticize people for wanting to be healthier–whatever it takes.
That being said, what you describe here is kinda what Kaiser was getting at with her comment that GLP-1s were the death of body positivity. I’m sympathetic to the idea that plus-sized people can’t win: their bodies will be endlessly criticized and discussed if they don’t lose the weight or if they do. Really feels like a Catch-22. On the other hand, it’s feels so disingenuous to watch certain celebs embrace a body type that isn’t skinny & tiny, hold themselves up as a model for body diversity and positivity for years–even make a whole career out of it–only to lose a shit ton of weight to conform with societal body norms. Again. their body their choice but ultimately, it does make the whole body positivity movement feel like a bunch of performative horseshit.
For real. I had a friend who was very big in the body positivity movement online, almost influencer level. She convinced many, many people to not get bariatric surgery, sometimes to the point of what I felt was really aggressive bullying. She even shamed and bullied her mother and sister out of surgeries. We lost touch for, reasons… I heard a few years after that she had had weight loss surgery and then just basically disappeared online because she knew she would be crucified for it.
Loved loved loved Derry girls, the collective chaos of it all and Nicola played the more sensible one. Must get around to watching the creator’s new series.
How to Get to Heaven from Belfast is really, really funny. Totally worth your time.
Agreed. Really enjoyed the new series. Not as good as DG but entertaining with that uniquely Belfast humor.
Also Nicola is drop dead gorgeous, much more so than some of her skinny counterparts. I saw a couple of now older A list actresses in person on a film set years ago and they were shockingly tiny and thin, almost freakishly so. I felt sorry for them because that’s what the industry demands – camera adds 10lbs and you don’t work.
Yes!! I couldn’t keep up with DG but How to Get to Heaven from Belfast was awesome!!
I love her! That’s all.
I think what’s she might be speaking to without intending to is body neutrality – decentering her appearance altogether? I think it’s a great thing – and I agree what’s been stated by others about people from marginalized groups being “forced” into a representative position simply because they are a part of an othered group. She doesn’t have to take that on if she doesn’t want to and has a right to push back by refusing to engage with any ideas around her physical presentation mattering.
Yes, it comes across as body neutrality to me too, which is where I am most of the time and it’s fantastic. I hope she’s able to protect her peace in this area and keep doing interesting work.
Thank you! I wasn’t sure how to phrase this but you captured it. She’s a brilliant comedic actress which is a true talent. That’s what I want to discuss about her.
I love what she said. People really cannot conceive of a person who isn’t obsessed with their appearance even though every single one of us knows at least one person who is like this. Some people really, truly don’t GAF. Nicola reads like someone who has a finite emotional bandwidth and a finite amount of time that she chooses to use wisely. I really admire her and wish I was like that because it really does sound so freeing.
i feel like you have really hit on something here. there’s definitely a navigation of body awareness that i think could healthily look exactly like you’re describing – this issue is way too big to endlessly engage with when you have a life to live in the body in question, so just lowering the priority of thinking about it or giving it energy is a reasonable, neutral landing point. upthread someone mentioned “body neutrality” and i love that as a description. it feels both honest and has more fluidity to it – we really collectively need to use a little critical thought/emotional intelligence and recognize our experiences in and feelings about our bodies change.
Most of the women who have spoken about body positivity ended up losing a lot of weight and looking like hypocrites. So it’s best for Nicola to remain silent on this issue.
I think a few people make body positivity part of their “brand.” Since she acts, she doesn’t really have to market herself in terms of body positivity. I don’t think most actresses do or would want to, to be honest. Singers and larger-sized models seem to, but I think you’d limit your ability to get cast if you were known only for body positivity. Even actresses larger than her don’t mention body positivity. They’re asked questions about it, but I don’t think they commit to talking about body positivity the way a comedian or plus-sized model might. And they don’t have to,
If there is an option to get cast as a thinner character, and you’re willing to lose the weight for the role, why would you want to limit your ability to get work as an actress by talking about body positivity? It doesn’t help you as an actress even if others want to project their own way of being on to you.
Nicola doesn’t have to talk about body positivity — she lives it when she appears on red carpets, looking fabulous. I actually think her comments give other women the liberty to say, “Nope, there’s more to me than my shape.”
Which is not to dismiss the value of the body positivity movement. It’s just that a woman who’s not a size 6 shouldn’t be compelled to enlist in it. Nicola has been an outspoken voice for Gaza. She wields her influence as she sees fit, and that’s feminist as hell.
This exactly! Representation matters and she’s truly talented, but imagine how much crap she’s already had to deal with to prove herself. She doesn’t need to also talk about her body at every turn.
Nicola is an actor. Actors want to talk about their work, not about their bodies. Why should she be any different or held to a different standard? She is an artist who wants to discuss her roles.
Ashley Graham is a model. Big difference.
Nicola speaks like a woman in good therapy. She knows what she can work on (being aware of it is working on it) — the ADHD — and has made a choice on those things to just tuck away (the weight discussion). For some, the ADHD and the weight discussion go hand in hand. She is a fantastic actress, and have loved her in Derry Girls.
She’s a terrific actor. Our obsession with thinness and bodies is something my generation (Gen X) sadly inherited from the Boomers. It’s so refreshing to see a pushback on it. My sister and I have played a drinking game in secret for years where we drink at the table every time someone brings up another person’s weight. It’s not an appropriate topic and should be off limits for anyone who isn’t a body builder, boxer, dietician, etc. – and no matter how often we point this out to that generation, they keep doing it. They can’t help themselves.
It could be a story about a car accident, and they’ll insert – “it was so hard to get her/him out of the car after the wreck, you know they are so fat” They find a way to inject weight in a story that has nothing to do with weight. It’s weird. I can’t speak for anyone else’s family but I think that whole generation got effed up by their parents and the church abusing them as children. And they see weight as the one thing a person can control so they hyper focus on it.
Personally I hear her frustration and I don’t like the intersectionality between actors and models either. It seems the thinner they are they more they are hailed as “serious actors” as well as fashionistas and put on magazine covers. Actors are not models. I get red carpet events they have to show up in designer gowns – but this doesn’t make them models. An actor’s job is to ACT – being extremely thin is not part of the job (there are some story lines that would call for extremely thin). But for some reason we’re requiring actresses (not so much male actors) to be thin if they aren’t they are continuously asked about it. It’s odd.
I’m in the UK and with all due respect, at no point has she ever been a size 10. 14, at the bare minimum. I have no dog in this race but for someone saying she doesn’t care about body positivity, being dishonest about her clothing size isn’t doing her any favours.
How do you know, for a fact, that “at no point has she ever been a size 10. 14, at the bare minimum” anyway?
And please be honest yourself, and avoid saying “with all due respect” when it’s clear you have zero respect for someone you’re calling a liar. It’s obvious you do have a “dog in this race” — and by “this race” I mean the endeavor to label someone else as “dishonest.”
I say this from the USA “with all due respect” (jk😜) as someone who’s seen Nicola Coughlin in only one episode each of Netflix Derry Girls and Bridgerton.
I took the comment to mean at no time during Bridgerton – the period about which Nicola was speaking – not in her entire life from infancy forward.
UK size 10 is equivalent to US size 6.
US size 10 is equivalent to UK 14.
I am not surprised at all to hear she was in a size 10 or 8 (US). Her waist was quite small and trim in her wedding dress, for example. Size 8 on a 5 ft 1 woman will look different than size 8 on a 5 ft 8 woman.
All of which is besides the point. At 43 I fully endorse body neutrality. As in, we all need to stop being obsessed with how a body looks. There’s absolutely no benefit from the current obsession on appearance in culture these days.
Did you measure her yourself? Perhaps you’re the modiste on Bridgerton?
“Incidentally, it does feel like “body positivity” as a pop-culture moment is pretty much over because of the now widespread use of GLP-1s.”
That feels so dark. Not disputing it, not even saying body positivity is good or bad, but damn. We really don’t want fat people to exist, as a culture, do we.
Agreed, people who are not “hollywood thin” often get turned into a body positivity spokesperson and it becomes so associated with them. I would push back on this too, if I were her. If somewhere down the road her weight fluctuates (whether from lifestyle change or a medical condition or whatever) people have weird reactions to that, so she’s probably trying to avoid that as well. Discussing people’s weight in general makes me uncomfortable, I’m glad this is her response!
She cannot lock herself into “body positivity” or else she’ll be criticized when she eventually loses weight (because with current drugs, anyone who is not actually poor, can lose weight if they want to). She needs to keep that weight loss door open, because society will criticize plus sized women who lost weight, more than women who were always thin.
Her body, her business.
She’s not a fitness guru, that some kind of misogynistic, phobic mess to ask her questions around body positivity. Do they ask men that?
I feel the term “body-positive” has been imposed on people. Like an actress simply answers a question about her body or face out of politeness (ie Kate Winslet or Mindy Kaling or Selena Gomez) and everyone sort of throws the label at her, even though I don’t think the actress herself actually committed to using the term to describe herself.
I can think of influencers who use the term, but I don’t think I’ve seen any actress actually use the term to describe themselves.