'Bridgerton' Star Simone Ashley Looks So Different With Her New Bangs

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. 

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.”