When India Amarteifio first saw Bridgerton, she was “completely overwhelmed by all these people who looked like me in period dress. I thought, ‘I want to be a part of this.’” Now, she will be: the 21-year-old actor from southwest London is poised to take the lead as the younger incarnation of Golda Rosheuvel’s character in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, the Regency romance’s hotly anticipated prequel centered on the teenage years of the titular monarch, believed to be Britain’s first mixed-race royal.
Penned by Shonda Rhimes herself, the Netflix extravaganza opens with Charlotte’s arrival in 18th-century London, aged just 17, from her native Germany. Against her will, she’s betrothed to the young King George III (Corey Mylchreest), a man she has never met, and—in the show’s reimagining of history—is eager to plot her escape. But then, despite herself, she slowly falls in love with her new husband and begins settling into her position of power. At first, she feels like a fish out of water in a largely white court, and faces immense pressure from her mother-in-law (Michelle Fairley) to provide heirs, but once she finds her voice, she manages to spark a remarkable societal shift that lays the foundations for the thrillingly diverse world of the original series.
Speaking on Zoom, cozied up in a big gray hoodie in a corner of her grandparents’ house in the Midlands, where she’s taking a break before her demanding press trail begins, Amarteifio is delightfully self-deprecating and frank—and understandably nervous about how drastically the spin-off could change her life. As we count down to its release on May 4, she tells us about already having acted for over a decade, the hidden details to look out for in her costumes, and the power of seeing herself reflected in a queen.
Vogue: I know you were a child actor. When did you make your screen debut?
India Amarteifio: I was in a Vodafone advert with my mum when I was eight months old. I only found out about it the other day—she told me they did an open call and she just rocked up with me [laughs]. Growing up, I loved theater and dance, and when I was nine, I auditioned for The Lion King in the West End. I did that for about a year, then moved on to Matilda, then Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Around that time, I got a scholarship to Sylvia Young Theatre School. When I was 12, I was doing West End Live with them in Trafalgar Square—we were doing Little Shop of Horrors and I was dressed as a tree. I hadn’t warmed up properly and I jumped into the splits and felt my hamstring tear. I carried on in the moment, but then, as I got older, I realized it might never properly heal. I was always trying to push myself and kept pushing on the injury. We had a careers evening when I was 14, and I started thinking: “If I keep doing this, I’ll have a short career.” So, I started focusing on acting and ended up getting small roles in Doctor Who, The Tunnel, Sex Education.
For all the latest fasion News Click Here
