Claudia Jessie — things you didn't know about the TV star

Claudia Jessie is one of the country's most exciting and versatile young actresses.

She's best known for playing Eloise, the sharp-witted sister in the regency romance series Bridgerton, which took the world by storm in 2020.

Claudia also stars in the true-life drama, Toxic Town on Netflix - a series set in 1990s Britain and tells the true story of a group of mothers who believed toxic waste caused babies to be born with deformities. Her co-stars include the brilliant Jodie Whittaker and Bond actor Rory Kinnear.

But aside from Claudia's acting credits, what else is there to know about her? Let us tell you...

Claudia Jessie had a challenging childhood

Claudia Jessie Peyton was born on October 30, 1989, in Moseley, a suburb of Birmingham.

She grew up in North London in a council flat with her single-parent mum Dawn and older brother. Money was tight and bailiffs would be frequently knocking at the door.

Remembering the challenges her mum faced, Claudia told Voice magazine: "We really struggled financially. My mum was a cleaner and I'm happy to show off about how hard she worked for us. She would clean houses in exchange for a dance class or a music lesson because she wanted me to have the best chance possible.

"I never went uni and I left secondary school with nothing. I'm really fortunate it's (her acting career) turned out this way because there is literally nothing else I can do."

She wanted to be a performing clown

As a child, Claudia could never have dreamt of becoming a successful television actress. She wanted to become a performer of another kind - a clown to be exact!

"A clown is all I ever wanted to be," she told The Big Issue. "All I wanted to do growing up was make people laugh. I actually considered going to clown in college in France for a long time."

She was discovered by a theatre director

Claudia's fortunes changed after she was noticed by Hannah Phillips, a local playwright and director.

At the time Claudia was pulling pints in a pub and taking acting classes on the side.

"She (Hannah) believed in me," Claudia told The Guardian. "She asked me to be part of some theatre companies she had in Birmingham. Without her, I wouldn't be an actor. I'm eternally grateful."

Claudia went on to train at the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School and Birmingham Library Theatre Company, before being signed by an agent in 2012.

She's been nominated for a Logie Award

Claudia has been steadily working for the past decade and her CV makes for impressive reading.

Her first professional role was in the short film Rosie, which was closely followed by parts in Doctors and Casualty.

In 2017, Claudia starred as DC Jodie Taylor in series four of the legendary BBC series Line of Duty. She also made a guest appearance in the Doctor Who episode Kerblam!

Her performance in Bali 2002, an Australian drama about the real-life 2002 Bali bombings earned her a nomination for the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress. Just to give you a heads up of how major that is, the Logies are like the equivalent of the Aussie Oscars!

She's also lent her voice to the audiobook The Rebound, which was voted as one of Audible's best books of 2023.

Claudia met her boyfriend through Bridgerton

That's right! Claudia's other half is casting director Cole Edwards, who auditioned her for the role of Eloise in Bridgerton.

Revealing how they first met in an interview with Glamour smitten Claudia shared: "I think it was the best audition I've ever had in my life. It was April 4, 2019. That's a lot to do with Cole Edwards, who I had auditioned with. It was so much fun, and I felt really comfortable. And then that was it."

The couple live together on a houseboat in Birmingham - how cool is that?!

She is a practicing Buddist

Claudia has been a Buddhist for nearly 18 years and was introduced to the religion by her aunt, who has been practicing for nearly four decades.

"Buddhism is the foundation of my life and the center of my life," she told Shondaland.

Claudia is also a vegan and ethically-minded when it comes to her clothes.

"I haven’t shopped on the high street for about six years, because I will not contribute to fast fashion," she explained to The Big Issue.

The actress is also passionate about the benefits of yoga and tries to get her daily practice in.

You won't find her on social media

Don't go looking for Claudia on social media platforms such as Instagram and X, because she doesn't do them.

Why, you might ask? The star explained her decision to keep away to Shondaland...

"With social media, I know I would be able to procrastinate. I would be able to compare myself to others. And you know what? Props to the people who don't and can be on social media. I think it's incredible. But I know that it's just not something I'm interested in. And I don't feel like I'm missing anything."

But just incase Claudia wants a taste of what's being said online, she can count on her friends.

"I've got loads of really lovely mates that are sending me screenshots of things that I have missed. Funny things, which is nice."

She broke a bone on the Bridgerton set

Filming Bridgerton season 3 proved a bit of a challenge for Claudia after she broke her wrist on set.

Recalling the painful incident during her appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert she said:

I’m such an idiot, it was my own fault. It was a Friday morning, about 8.30, and we hadn’t even started filming yet. To celebrate everyone’s good mood I did a high kick, but when I put my leg up I was restricted by my costume and fell backwards. I landed on my wrist.”

Claudia soon realized her wrist was broken after everyone’s voices went muffled in her head, which was a symptom of the shock. The good news is Claudia’s right wrist is healed, but the star joked saying, “She’ll never be the same again!”

Claudia Jessie's fact file

Frequently asked questions about the star...

We work hard to ensure that all information is correct. Facts that change over time, such as age, will be correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of the last article update.