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Nicola Coughlan

Acting Born Jan 9, 1987 Galway, Ireland 24 credits

Biography

Nicola Mary Coughlan is an Irish actress. She is known for her roles as Clare Devlin in the Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls and Penelope Featherington in the Netflix period drama Bridgerton. She earned a Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination for playing the lead role of Penelope Featherington in the third season of Bridgerton. Coughlan earned a British Academy Television Awards nomination for her role as Maggie Donovan in Big Mood (2024–present).

Coughlan was born on 9 January 1987 in Galway, Ireland, and grew up in Oranmore. The youngest of three siblings, her father served in the Irish Army before passing away in 2016, and her mother was a stay-at-home parent.

At the age of five, while watching her sister perform in a school play, Coughlan decided she wanted to become an actress. She attended Scoil Mhuire Primary School and Calasanctius College. She graduated with a degree in English and Classical Civilisation from the National University of Ireland, Galway. She then went on to train in England at the Oxford School of Drama and Birmingham School of Acting.

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Known for

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

as Self - Guest

Late Night with Seth Meyers

as Self
Film

GOAT

as Olivia Burke (voice)

The Kelly Clarkson Show

as Self

The Graham Norton Show

as Self

Bridgerton

as Penelope Featherington

Bridgerton

as Penelope Bridgerton
Film

Barbie

as Barbie
Film

The Magic Faraway Tree

as Silky

Full filmography

  • Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (2009) as Self - Guest
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014) as Self
  • GOAT (2026) as Olivia Burke (voice)
  • The Kelly Clarkson Show (2019) as Self
  • The Graham Norton Show (2007) as Self
  • Bridgerton (2020) as Penelope Featherington
  • Bridgerton (2020) as Penelope Bridgerton
  • Barbie (2023) as Barbie
  • Doctors (2000) as Marie Callaghan
  • Would I Lie to You? (2007) as Self
  • Derry Girls (2018) as Clare Devlin
  • RuPaul's Drag Race UK (2019) as Self - Guest Judge
  • Harlots (2017) as Hannah Dalton
  • The Magic Faraway Tree (2026) as Silky
  • The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice (2017) as Self
  • Rhod Gilbert's Growing Pains (2021) as Guest
  • The Netflix Afterparty (2021) as Self
  • Saturday Night Live UK (2026) as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
  • Saturday Night Live UK (2026) as Self - Host
  • Rob Beckett's Smart TV (2024) as Self - Guest
  • National Theatre Live: The Playboy of the Western World (2026) as Pegeen Mike
  • Big Mood (2024) as Maggie
  • Taskmaster’s New Year Treat (2021) as Self
  • The Velveteen Rabbit (2023) as Playroom Fairy (voice)