SHE IS beauty & grace,

You know her as Clare Devlin on Derry Girls and Bridgerton's very own Lady Whistledown. Nicola Coughlan is so much more than an Irish TV star and, here, we shine the spotlight on her

- THUVESHNIE GOVENDER

SHE IS nicola, Coughlan

In her late 30s and flaunting a voluptuous figure, she’s received her fair share of crude comments. But she stands out to women of all ages as someone who knows her worth and will not let social standards dictate her life. She is Nicola Coughlan…

Irish rose

Born in 1987 and raised in Galway, on the west coast of Ireland, Nicola’s journey towards becoming an actor is inspiring in that it is honest and raw and a good lesson in never giving up.

Nicola knew that she wanted to be an actor from the age of five, but it was only at 31 years old that she finally got her break-out role as Clare Devlin in British sitcom Derry Girls, set in the late 1990s. Her line, “It’s me, I’m the wee lesbian”, is probably one of the most meme-worthy and well-known quotes from the series.

To get to this point, she followed a long and arduous path, in which she struggled with depression, financial issues and more – moving to London and back home four times in her 20s, without career success. But with her enchanting demeanour, passionate spirit and humble outlook, Nicola has shown that no matter your age, you can steal the spotlight.

Most of us got to know Nicola through her character, Penelope Featherington, in the hit Netflix series