Irish actress Nicola Coughlan, known to hordes of Bridgerton fans as Penelope Featherington/Lady Whistledown and as Clare Devlin to Derry Girls enthusiasts, will be honored at this year’s French TV festival Canneseries with the annual Konbini Commitment Award.
The award, presented by the French online media group, honors talent who have distinguished themselves “by the artistic quality and societal, innovative and/or revolutionary dimension of their work.” Previous winners include Sex Education creator Laurie Nunn, American Horror Story actress Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, and Transparent showrunner Joey Soloway.
Coughlan came to international attention with Derry Girls, a period comedy set in 1990s Northern Ireland in the final years of the Troubles. The series ran for three seasons on Channel 4 and became a global sensation when Netflix licensed the show worldwide. It won best comedy at the 2023 BAFTAs as well as the international Emmy awards.
Coughlan followed up with Netflix phenomenon Bridgerton, stealing the show as Penelope Featherington, a Regency-era wallflower who is secretly Lady Whistledown, the anonymous author of a notorious scandal sheet. Her performance earned her a Screen Actors Guild nomination for best female actor in a drama series as well as two SAG nominations as part of the Bridgerton ensemble.
Coughlan turned up as Diplomat Barbie in Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster, recently starred alongside Lydia West in Brit series Big Mood and featured in the last Doctor Who Christmas special. She’ll next be seen as Silky the woodland fairy in the upcoming adaptation of Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree alongside Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy.
Coughlan will receive the commitment award on stage at the Lumiere Theater in Cannes on April 28th.
The 2025 Canneseries festival runs April 24-29.
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