'Bridgerton’ Star Simone Ashley Cut Bangs and Looks Totally Different

Simone Ashley attends the "Bridgerton" Series 2 World Premiere at Tate Modern — (Image credit: Lia Toby / Stringer/Getty)

Calling all Bridgerton watchers: Simone Ashley is likely going to look a lot different on season three. The actress, who plays Kate Sharma in the Netflix series, just very casually debuted a major hair transformation. Not only did she chop off a lot of inches (her hair was previously *super* long), but she also got some new bangs.

While this could just be her off-duty look, it’s quite possible that the bangs are going to double as a new ‘do for the Viscountess. Turns out, cameras will be rolling pretty soon. Shonda Rhimes confirmed to PopBuzz that season three is going to kick off in summer 2022.

“See ya Seattle 👋🏾 x,” the Sex Education star casually captioned a selfie shared via Instagram. While she made absolutely no reference to her dramatic new look (way to play it cool), fans obviously picked up on her new hairstyle—and wasted no time obsessing over it. Her on-screen mom Lady Mary, aka Shelley Conn, even gave the look her stamp of approval. “Bangs are banging, Girl!!!,” she commented.

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Ashley’s new haircut may be her biggest change to date, but the actress is no stranger to experimenting with her look. She typically wears her hair in bouncy curls, but she’s also played with extensions, curly textures, high ponytails, and baby braids over the past few months. One of our personal favorites to date? Her Met Gala look.

For the May event, Ashley opted for a wet-looking low ponytail—that required 26-inches of extensions. “Simone and I wanted to have an easy elegance to the hairstyle. Something that elongates her statuesque physique,” her hairstylist Peter Lux said in a press release shared with Marie Claire. “A ponytail is always modern and is something that never goes out of style.”

Samantha Holender is the Senior Beauty Editor at Marie Claire, where she reports on the best new launches, dives into the science behind skincare, and shares the breakdown on the latest and greatest trends in the beauty space. She's studied up on every ingredient you'll find on INCI list and is constantly in search of the world's glowiest makeup products. She's constantly tracking the biggest nail and hair trends to pop up in the beauty space, going backstage during fashion weeks, tracking celebrity looks, and constantly talking to celebrity hair stylists, nail artists, and makeup artists. Prior to joining the team, she worked as Us Weekly’s Beauty and Style Editor, where she stayed on the pulse of pop culture and broke down celebrity beauty routines, hair transformations, and red carpet looks. Her words have also appeared on Popsugar, Makeup.com, Skincare.com, Delish.com, and Philadelphia Wedding. Samantha also serves as a board member for the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME). She first joined the organization in 2018, when she worked as an editorial intern at Food Network Magazine and Pioneer Woman Magazine. Samantha has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs. While at GWU, she was a founding member of the school’s HerCampus chapter and served as its President for four years. When she’s not deep in the beauty closet or swatching eyeshadows, you can find her obsessing over Real Housewives and all things Bravo. Keep up with her on Instagram @samholender.