Jacqueline Avant died before the Emmy-nominated ‘Bridgerton’ spinoff’s release, but her daughter says she would have been thrilled by the show
Even though Jacqueline Avant isn’t here to see the success of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story — the Netflix series she largely inspired — her daughter told PEOPLE the late philanthropist would be “over the moon” about the show’s success and the subsequent rise in interest surrounding the real-life British royal.
“I started laughing when I saw [your] magazine coverage and everybody covering the story of how my mom inspired [the show]. I thought, ‘Well somebody is dancing in heaven right now. She is thrilled,'” Nicole Avant said in an exclusive interview.
Avant, who was married to legendary music producer Clarence Avant, was killed in 2021 in a crime that shocked the Hollywood community. The former model was fatally shot by a convicted robber who invaded her Beverly Hills home. She was 81.
As a result, she never lived to see Queen Charlotte, which debuted on Netflix on May 4. A dedication to Avant appears in the final moments of the first episode — a fitting tribute to the woman who pitched the Bridgerton spinoff in 2020 by approaching her son-in-law, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
Related: Jacqueline Avant's Daughter Says Late Activist Gave Her a 'Superpower' by Teaching Her Black History
Nicole, 55, distinctly recalls the day her mother approached her husband with the idea to hone in on the Bridgerton character and authentic historical figure, Queen Charlotte.
“We were dropping off food during [the] COVID [pandemic]. I was in the other room with my father, and I heard my mother fussing around, [pulling] Ted to the other room. He just rolled his eyes. I thought, ‘Oh God, here we go. It’s going to be something’s wrong,'” Nicole said.
“She loved Bridgerton,” Nicole added, before noting that Avant told Sarandos that the show “didn’t do enough on Queen Charlotte.” According to Nicole, her mother said, “She is a real person. This is real history. Why didn’t you go deeper.”
“She showed Ted the book she had on Queen Charlotte, and then she showed him a letter that she bought at an auction that [the queen] had written, so he could tell her obsession. The interesting thing was when Ted got in the car, his eye roll turned into, ‘Oh, wait a minute, Mom might have something right here. Wait a minute, this might be something.’ And then I guess he talked to [showrunner] Shonda Rhimes about it and then the rest is history.”
That’s when Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, which is nominated for three Emmys — Outstanding Period Costumes, Outstanding Period Hairstyling and Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance — was born.
The series focuses on a young Queen Charlotte, played by British actress India Amarteifio. The character as an older woman is portrayed by Golda Rosheuvel, who also stars in the original Bridgerton series.
On the day of Queen Charlotte’s debut, Sarandos, 58, shared the origins of the spinoff with an Instagram post showing a photo of the real-life monarch’s handwritten letter that Avant shared with him. “The story of a queen, inspired by a queen,” he wrote in the caption. “I love that Jacquie and I shared that special moment and it led to the creation of something really magical.”
Nicole, who spoke to PEOPLE as part of an interview about her upcoming book about grief, said that she now sees her mother in Queen Charlotte. “When I watched [the show], I said to Ted, ‘I know why my mom was obsessed with her — because that is her.'”
She added, “That devotion, that is what she fell in love with about her. Not so much that she was mixed race like my mom, and a royal and all that, it wasn’t that. It was her devotion, and that’s what I got to take away from it. And it made me understand my mom a lot more, just knowing more and more about Queen Charlotte. Their personality is the same.”
Nicole recently revealed the cover of her upcoming book Think You’ll Be Happy: Moving through Grief with Grit, Grace, and Gratitude, which she describes as “part memoir” and “part guide.” As the title suggests, the book details her experience processing the tragic murder of her mother.
While discussing the book, which will be published in October, she said she believes her mother helped her to keep going, despite her devastating loss.
“I felt that she was energetically pushing me to move on, to stand up. I actually became my mom,” Nicole said. “I decided when I answered the question of, ‘Who am I going to be?’ it was really, ‘What would Jacquie do right now?’”
