Simone Ashley has opened up about not seeing herself represented on screen ahead of her starring role in Picture This. 

The Bridgerton actress stars in the upcoming romantic comedy as Pia, a struggling pH๏τographer whose quest to find love and career success is thrown into jeopardy with the arrival of her ex. 

And speaking to the Reign with Josh Smith podcast on Tuesday, Simone shared her joy at the film’s representation – as she admitted it is something she never saw growing up.

‘I really wanted to be Cameron Diaz when I was younger,’ Simone said. ‘I loved all the characters she played, but the girls that looked like me were always the side chick or just the one that didn’t win and that didn’t reflect my real life because I’ve won in real life in many ways.’

She added: ‘I would say the younger me is kind of like, “oh my gosh, we did a rom com and it’s an Indian girl leading it!”‘

Simone wishes she could have seen characters that reminded her of herself on screen but hopes that can be achieved now with Picture This, as she noted: ‘To put it simply… When it comes to this movie, I just want brown women to have it and to just win!’

Simone Ashley has opened up about not seeing herself represented on screen ahead of her starring role in Picture This 

And speaking to the Reign with Josh Smith podcast on Tuesday, Simone shared her joy at the film’s representation – as she admitted it is something she never saw growing up

‘I hope that I can help other women and other girls that look like me go, “it’s possible”,’ she said.

‘And I grew up watching all the 90s rom coms like My Best Friend’s Wedding, all the Julia Roberts ones, all the Anne Hathaway ones, all the Cameron Diaz ones.’

Comparing herself to the rom com leads of the 1990s, Simone said: ‘I’ve also had chaos in real life in many ways, like Bridget Jones. 

‘The reason why I wanted to do this movie [Picture This] was because I wanted to show the world just the human side of someone and then celebrate the culture at the same time.’

‘I think things would have just felt a bit more normal and accessible [for younger me].’

Picture This sees struggling pH๏τographer Pia receive a prediction: true love and career success await her in the next five dates she goes on. 

With her sister’s wedding looming and family playing matchmaker, her ex reappears, throwing both her love and professional life into chaos. 

Elsewhere in the interview, Simone opened up about how she often feels ‘othered’ and underestimated when in rooms full of men. 

The Bridgerton actress stars in the upcoming romantic comedy as Pia, a struggling pH๏τographer whose quest to find love and career success is thrown into jeopardy with the arrival of her ex

‘I really wanted to be Cameron Diaz when I was younger,’ Simone said. ‘I loved all the characters she played, but the girls that looked like me were always the side chick’

She said: ‘I think a lot of the time [I have felt othered] when I’ve been in a room of men. 

‘Because I can be a girly girl if I want to, I can wear my heels, look tall and have my makeup done and my hand’s manicured… If I’m in a room of men, the way that they can perceive that is, “she doesn’t know,” “she doesn’t think,” or “she hasn’t got the ability.”

‘When I’m in a room of men, I do feel I have to speak a bit louder and explain myself even more or fight the urge to prove myself because that’s something I try to not do, I don’t like proving myself, because that’s going against that inner belief. 

‘It’s like, “okay, they’ll see!” I think when I’ve been in a room of guys I’ve always felt a little bit like, “maybe I can’t do this,” but then that’s my lesson and my challenge to walk into a room like that and lead it and just be confident and that’s a journey. Yeah, sometimes I can do it, and sometimes I’m like, “pfft, don’t know if I’ve got it”.’

Simone’s rom com role comes as she prepares to embark on a music career also, after declaring that she’s in her ‘single era’.

She revealed last month that she had split from her boyfriend of three years – Constantin ‘Tino’ Klein, the boss of a company that organises ice races in Austria.

Picture This sees struggling pH๏τographer Pia receive a prediction: true love and career success await her in the next five dates she goes on

With her sister’s wedding looming and family playing matchmaker, her ex reappears, throwing both her love and professional life into chaos

And it appears that the actress is channelling her struggles into music for her forthcoming debut pop album.

The Surrey-born actress said: ‘Sometimes I feel a song is storytelling and sometimes songs that were maybe written from a place of heartbreak end up being a dance cry banger.’

She added: ‘One of my songs has been influenced by heartbreak. There was one song that was written from a place of heartbreak.

‘It was a really grey weekend when I was writing it, then when we went to the studio, the sun came out and I had a few months of distance from the song and it turned into something really positive.’