Simone Ashley’s ethnicity is Indian Tamil from South-East Asia, but her nationality is British. Her parents are Latha and Gunasekharan Pillai.
Simone Ashley’s parents migrated to Britain from India in search of a better life. Due to their background, they preferred for their children to pursue safe and guaranteed paths, but Simone rebelled. They nevertheless supported her, and their belief in her has paid off as she is now a famous actress renowned for hit TV shows such as Bridgerton and Sex Education.
What is Simone Ashley’s Ethnicity?
Simone Ashley is of South East Asian ethnicity, specifically Indian Tamil. Her parents hail from the Tamil region of India and are quite proud of their heritage. They tried to pass it to her via food as well as teaching her Tamil and Hindu languages. While the actress may not have imbibed all these lessons, she has imbibed the most important one, which is to be proud of her heritage.
Simone Ashley is proud of the fact that she is Indian Tamil. She is also proud of her South East Asian origin and her noticeably dark skin. The actress encourages others like her, especially those that have acting ambitions, to go all out and pursue their dreams. She admonishes them not to cave to industry demands to conform to a certain look but rather to go all out, be a fighter, and not let anyone stop them.
The Actress Has Been Outspoken About Colorism
Simone Ashley has been outspoken about certain issues that confront the movie industry, such as colorism, i.e., the preference for fairer-skinned girls. She has revealed that she has been typecast and even lost roles because of the color of her skin. She refuses to be discouraged, though but continues to forge ahead. She, therefore, advises other dark-skinned South-East Asian women to believe that they are talented, smart, and have something to offer.
She Has Also Touted The Power of Representation
Simone Ashley has also been speaking about the power of representation. Though she previously only focused on her personality rather than letting her color define her, she accepts that it matters for people to see themselves on the screens. She has even revealed that she was never into the Regency period until she watched a show like Bridgerton that included many actors of color.
What Is Simone Ashley’s Nationality?
Simone Ashley is a British national. Despite her rich South-East Asian heritage, she was actually born in Surrey, England. She has spent all of her life there and also lived in the U.S., specifically California as well. The great strides that Ashley has achieved in her career made Variety list her among the 10 Brits to watch out for in 2021. The Hollywood Reporter also named her among The Great British and Irish Film and TV Breakouts of 2022.
Meet Simone Ashley’s Parents
Simone Ashley’s parents are Latha and Gunasekharan Pillai. The couple are originally from the Tamil region of India and spent a good number of their youthful days there. They later immigrated to the United Kingdom, where they built a life for themselves.
While the occupation of her mother remains a mystery, Simone Ashley’s father, Gunasekharan Pillai, is a pharmacist. The actress also has an elder brother named Sean Pilai. Given the age of their famous daughter, Simone Ashley’s parents most likely met and married in the late 80s or early 90s. The couple remains together to date and lives in Camberley, Surrey.
Simone Ashley’s Parents Inspired Her Love for the Arts
Simone Ashley’s parents inspired her love for the arts. For instance, her pharmacist dad was passionate about film, music, and photography. He had a cool record player while she was growing up and played tracks from the likes of Bob Marley, Fleetwood Mac, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, etc.
Simone’s mom also played Phil Collins too, and all this made the young lady fall in love with music. Another early passion of Simone’s was movies. She got to watch Disney classics such as The Jungle Book with her brother. She also watched classic films from the likes of Quentin Tarantino, such as Kill Bill, and was massively impressed and inspired by Uma Thurman’s work.
They Have Supported Her Career Despite Early Misgivings
All the music and movies that Simone Ashley consumed as a child left a lasting impression on her, and as she grew older, she realized that it was only the creative arts, such as music, film, and photography, that piqued her interest. She trudged on through school and pleaded with her parents to be enrolled in singing and dancing classes.
Simone Ashley’s parents were none too happy with her choice. They had come from a background where they didn’t have the luxury of choosing whatever they wanted to be. They hoped for their daughter to choose a safe and stable career. They were thus taken aback when that didn’t seem to be the case. They, however, relented and allowed Simone to enroll in the classes that she wanted to take. She went on to attend a theatre school before dropping out to pursue a modeling and acting career.
Simone’s parents were horrified by such a step, but they continued supporting her, and she later went on to break through in her career. Ashley Simone also played her own path. Even though she rebelled, she also stopped long enough to see issues from her parents’ angle and continue to provide reassurance to them.
Such a mature attitude meant that she preserved the close relationship that she had with them. Now that Simone Ashley has achieved fame, her parents are proud of all that she has been able to do in the movie industry and remain her biggest support system as she continues to break ground.
Simone Credits Her Mom’s Advice for Keeping Her Grounded
Simone Ashley is one of the most exciting British acting talents in recent times and has some major TV series and movies to her name. She has been featured in several magazines and has been offered front-row seats at various fashion shows. Despite all this, the actress remains quite grounded.
Ashley is famously ambitious, but she remains level-headed, a trait that she learned from her mom. According to the Sex Education star, her mom instilled in her the importance of having a good heart and knowing that everyone’s human. Her mom also taught her that the currency that mattered was neither the type of cloth one wore or their money but rather being a good person.
