In an interview with InStyle, the breakout Netflix star said it was “just so cool” to be able to showcase natural beauty in the Shonda Rhimes-written series
India Amarteifio is redefining beauty standards.
The 21-year-old actress, who stars in Netflix’s Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, recently opened up to InStyle about how she was able to embrace natural hair on screen.
“My hair is very similar to how I had it in the show,” she told the outlet, noting that she wore a wig similar to her own curls.
Explaining the origins of her character Young Queen Charlotte, who traveled to England from Germany, Amarteifio said that having her hair “just exist in her natural kind of way and to be accepted and fully loved by someone else” without having to confine to beauty standards (that is, Amarteifio says, having to make “hair straighter, putting it up, or making it neater”) was “the cherry on top.”
“To be loved unconditionally for who you are exactly is, I’m sure, basically the root of what Charlotte wants and the root of what a lot of us want. The fact that they re-imagined how our hair would look back in the day, I think, is just so cool,” noted Amarteifio.
The British star admits that she never thought a role in a period drama would make its way to her résumé, telling InStyle, “I never saw myself in a regal crown, or I never saw myself [portrayed] in a positive light,” when it came to the genre.
However, thanks to the series’ writer Shonda Rhimes, whose portfolio also includes Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, she was able to play the part. “She consciously makes the effort to involve everyone in her projects,” noted Amarteifio.
Now, Amarteifio hopes that a younger generation can “see themselves represented in any way, shape, or form, especially for young Black children.”
The Bridgerton prequel also stars Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte), Corey Mylchreest (Young King George) Ruth Gemmell (Violet Bridgerton) and Arsema Thomasand (Lady Danbury).
