Women across the world are celebrating this week, because Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan wittily shut down a misguided question about her body, and confirmed what millions of Us obviously already knew — being sexy and desirable has absolutely nothing to do with how skinny you are.
Coughlan’s Bridgerton character Penelope has gone through quite the glow-up in season 3 of the Netflix Regency drama, but it’s thankfully one that has very little to do with her weight and everything to do with styling and confidence. And yet the Irish actress, 37 (yes, 37! How amazing is her skin too?) was asked live on stage over the weekend at a fan screening in Dublin, Ireland, if it was “brave” of her to bare her TOTALLY NORMAL body on screen.
Her impeccable response has since gone viral on social media. “You know, it is hard, because I think women with my body type — women with perfect breasts — we don’t get to see ourselves on screen enough,” she said with a wry smile. “I’m very proud as a member of the perfect breasts community. I hope you enjoy seeing them.”
Since Bridgerton came back for its third season, with Coughlan taking on more of a leading role, there’s been a lot of debate about her body and whether or not she is “fat”. But seriously, who cares? Like many of us who aren’t professional models, athletes or reality stars, she probably has clothes in her closet spanning a few sizes. That’s because being thin doesn’t have to be a priority to lead a full, meaningful and — yes! — sexy life. Main character energy doesn’t have a dress size attached to it; it’s all about confidence and chemistry. And whatever her “body type”, season 3 Penelope’s cup doth runneth over with these.
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It’s great that Coughlan did not dignify that silly question with a serious response about how “brave” she is for owning and baring her body, but she has recently talked in more detail about what it’s been like to get sexy on screen. “There’s one scene where I’m very naked on camera, and that was my idea, my choice,” she said. “It just felt like the biggest ‘f—k you’ to all the conversation surrounding my body. It was amazingly empowering.”
Coughlan has also spoken about how she had previously made her peace with Penelope being “dowdy” but is now loving getting to live her best life on screen. “After two seasons, it was so nice to finally be wearing flattering things, and it really helped the character,” she said. “She has to grow in confidence, and it helped me grow in confidence, too.”
And here’s a secret for anyone who is not lucky enough to be a member of Coughlan’s perfect breasts community: taking your clothes off when you are not a size zero is not “brave,” it’s fun. The truth is, members of the perfect breasts community often tend to be at their most confident when wearing not many clothes — because, unlike in 19th century high society, fashion in the 21st century isn’t often designed for boobs and curves.
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But if you were to jump onto Zoom or head to the bar in full Regency dress, complete with a heaving bosom straight out of Bridgerton, people would think you were either completely insane or on your way to a historical reenactment festival. Lingerie, however, can give quite the boost — so us fellow midsize girlies know that it’s a far more productive use of our time to steer clear of the boring “is she fat?” debates and instead spend time googling more important, life-changing topics like “best bras for Bridgerton cleavage.” Now that’s the big question we really need Coughlan to answer …
