Who plays Eloise on ‘Bridgerton?’

Ladies and gentlemen of the Ton, the hour of utmost celebration is almost upon us. The sumptuous televisual feast that is Bridgerton is returning to streaming emporium Netflix for its third season this May in the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty Four.

It’s true, you can’t keep a good Lady Whistledown, um, down, as Bridgerton season 3 is almost upon us, bringing back (nearly) all of your returning favorites. This time around it’s Colin and Penelope’s time on the love seat, but we’d expect much from fifth Bridgerton sibling Eloise too, now that she has cut ties with her former best friend after the revelations of season 2 — how will she feel when her brother starts making googly-eyes with the woman she knows to be Whistledown?

Eloise’s time is coming, so here, dear reader, is all you need to know about the esteemed actress who brings her to life with such auspicious affectation. (It’s OK, you can keep reading, I’m gonna stop now).

Who is Eloise Bridgerton actress Claudia Jessie?

Bridgerton fans may be aware that Nicola Coughlan, who plays Eloise’s best friend Penelope Featherington, isn’t actually a teenager but, at the time of writing, is 37 years old. What’s less well-known is that Claudia Jessie herself is only a few years younger and is currently 34.

As such, Jessie has already had an incredibly prolific career, of which her turn in Bridgerton is but one (albeit world-famous) part, with several lead roles in British TV series under her belt. That includes sitcom The Porters, season 3 of police procedural WPC 56, and season 4 of the U.K.’s favorite crime drama, Line of Duty. You might also have seen her in an 2018 episode of Doctor Who opposite Jodie Whittaker.

A main role in 2018 ITV/Amazon co-production Vanity Fair, an adaptation of the classic Regency-era romance novel, proved prophetic when she landed the gig as Eloise in Bridgerton, her most celebrated to date, in 2020. Although the character was only 17 in the first season, Jessie was a full 14 years older.

As for the secret behind her youthful appearance, that might have something to do with Jessie’s lifestyle. She’s a vegan, meditates for at least an hour everyday, and is a practicing Nichiren Buddhist. The actress took up the faith at the age of 17 to combat her mental health struggles, and has often opened up about her lifelong history of panic attacks and anxiety.

See more of Claudia Jessie as Eloise when Bridgerton season 3 part 1 elegantly dances its way onto Netflix on May 16.