One of the World's Most Trolled Actresses Reveals How She Wanted to 'Die' Over Body-Shaming

Nicola Coughlan has spoken candidly about the emotional toll of relentless online body-shaming, revealing she once felt she wanted to "die" after a drunken stranger fixated on her appearance – with insiders telling OK! the actress has become one of the most heavily trolled performers in the world over her body.

The pint-sized star, 39, is widely known for portraying Penelope Bridgerton in Netflix's hit period drama Bridgerton and for her role as Clare Devlin in the Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls.

The Irish actress has also appeared in the 2023 blockbuster Barbie and the Channel 4 series Big Mood, which earned her a BAFTA nomination.

Despite her success, Coughlan has repeatedly faced intense scrutiny online about her appearance, including claims she is "plus-size" despite saying she has worn size 10 clothing during filming.

Coughlan described one uncomfortable encounter that crystallized the problem for her.

She said in a new magazine chat: "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.'"

Sources familiar with the online environment surrounding the actor say the level of commentary directed at Coughlan has been unusually intense.

One television industry source said the fixation on her body has made her one of the most targeted actors on social media.

"Nicola has been subjected to an extraordinary amount of trolling about her appearance," they added. "Within fan culture and online commentary, she has become one of the most discussed actresses in the world now when it comes to body image, and unfortunately, much of that attention has been negative."

The source added the attention often overshadows her work as a performer.

They said: "There is a sense that whatever she does professionally is filtered through conversations about her body rather than her acting. For someone who is delivering major performances on globally successful shows, that can be deeply frustrating and exhausting."

In her new interview, Coughlan also criticized the way public conversation frequently reduces her career to discussions about her size.

Reflecting on reactions to her scenes in Bridgerton, she said: "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 eight."

She continued: "Then people talked about how I was plus size, and I was like, 'How f----- are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen?'"

Coughlan said she finds the ongoing debate around body positivity unhelpful and distracting from her work. She added: "The thing I say sometimes that p----- people off is I have no interest in body positivity."

Coughlan added body-focused conversations simply do not interest her personally. "When I was a kid growing up, I never thought about that. I didn't look at actors and think about their bodies," she said. "So, I actually don't care."

Coughlan also described how exhausting it can be to see months of work on a project reduced to commentary about appearance rather than performance.

She said: "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."

The actress also spoke about gaining greater understanding of herself after receiving a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD.

She said: "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."