BAFTA award-winning actress Aimee Lou Wood is quickly becoming a household name. With an impressive portfolio that includes roles in Sex Education and the critically-acclaimed film Living with Bill Nighy, she’s making her mark in the industry.
Now, she is set to star in HBO and Sky’s hit show The White Lotus alongside Walton Goggins, taking on the role of Chelsea for season 3, which is set in Thailand. The satirical murder mystery drama returns today, with familiar character Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) reappearing after first popping up in season 1.
Aimee, who joins a star-studded cast that includes names like Jason Isaacs and Blackpink’s Lisa, plays one of the many guests checking into the White Lotus’ luxury Thailand resort.
Aside from her Netflix success, Aimee has also graced the stage in productions like Uncle Vanya and the star-studded West End revival of Cabaret. Read on to find out more about the rising star.
(Image: Getty Images)
Bullying ordeal and growing up in Stockport
Aimee was born on February 3, 1995, and raised in Stockport. Her father worked at a car dealership and her mother works for ChildLine, according to a Guardian interview. Her sister Emily is now a makeup artist, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The talented actress recently opened up about her path to fame, divulging how weekends spent enjoying Oscar-nominated films with her dad and ’80s flicks with her mum ignited her passion for acting.
Cementing her love for the craft, she threw herself into studies, completing A Level drama at Cheadle Hulme School, before refining her skills through a foundation course at Oxford School of Drama and further honing her talent at a London drama school.
In an intimate chat with Stylist, she delved into the challenges of her childhood, marvelling at her mother’s resilience in the face of her father’s battle with addiction, which saw him “always coming and going”.
Yet, in a heartwarming turn, she joyfully shared that he has managed to stay “completely clean for years now”, strengthening their relationship along the way.
Therapy has been transformative for the actress. She reflected: “I guess therapy has helped me to unpick a lot. I’m learning through therapy that some people have a really steady line in life and then… poof, trauma. While others are working through a constant flow of sh*t.”
She also recounted a poignant moment when, after a few too many drinks, she messaged a school bully on Instagram. This led to a surprisingly sincere conversation where the former tormentor acknowledged his previous wrongdoing, attributing it to difficulties in his home life back then, and offered her an apology.
“He was quite horrendous to me. I’m not sure why I bugged him so much,” she reflected. “I think it was to do with being very popular, even though I was also very weird. I don’t think he could get his head around that.”
Acting school challenges and mental health battle
RADA-trained Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood has opened up about the challenges she faced while studying at the prestigious London acting school, where she graduated in 2017. At RADA, she encountered pressure to suppress her northern accent.
Giving the lowdown to Radio Times, Aimee said: “They said received pronunciation was going to be the main accent we needed, so I should know when to dial my accent down, but that’s not been the case at all – if anything, people ask me to amp it up!”
After RADA, her path led her to theatre gigs before landing her breakthrough role on Netflix’s Sex Education. Contemplating her rise to fame, Aimee admitted to Radio Times: “We had no idea that it was going to be as massive as it was. For all of us, it was quite a shock. You’re walking down the street and all of a sudden your face is known.”
The fame came with its challenges, however. Not only did it catapult her to stardom, but it also took a toll on her mental health, turning her into a recluse at one point, as she mentioned: “Amazing things have come from it, but it had a real effect on my mental health – I became a recluse, because most actors are not famous. Only now am I really starting to enjoy it.”
Aimee also touched upon the public’s lack of empathy towards celebrities’ personal trials, adding: “People don’t see that you’re a person who might be going through their own stuff – they look at you as a novelty.”
(Image: HBO/SKY)
Sex Education, love life and split from Netflix co-star
Aimee scooped the Bafta for best female comedy performance for her role as Aimee Gibbs in Sex Education.
During her time on the show, she struck up a romance with co-star Connor Swindells, whom she also briefly dates on the show.
Following their break-up, Aimee revealed to Grazia magazine: “We’d had some time apart and then we realised that maybe the relationship wasn’t serving us both. We still really love each other and respect each other. It was an okay breakup – it wasn’t dramatic.”
She admitted: “I find it hard when I’m in relationships to maintain my sense of who I am. I’m very independent, but I’m also quite impressionable. I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy. That’s why it’s really important for me to have time alone.”
West End stint that ‘almost killed’ her
Additionally, the talented actress touched on her taxing experience in the iconic West End musical Cabaret as Sally Bowles, a role that earned critical acclaim. However, Aimee has also since quipped that it “almost killed her” due to its demanding nature. The celebrated revival, featuring stars such as Cara Delevingne, Amy Lennox, and Jessie Buckley during its on-going run, has taken audiences by storm since it opened in December 2021.
Chatting with Radio Times, Aimee disclosed: “Years ago, an actor told me, ‘It’s really important to keep going back to theatre, because otherwise you’ll develop a fear for it, you’ll get stage fright,’ but after Cabaret, I am scared. I loved it, it was my dream role and it changed me as a person, but it almost killed me. Going on Sally’s journey every night was hard.”
She opened up about feeling “naked on stage” during her performance, noting: “Afterwards, people would say I was great, and I was thinking, ‘I wasn’t pretending, I was actually just screaming and crying and having a breakdown.'”
She also mentioned the thin line between her reality and the play’s fiction, saying: “The line between reality and fiction always gets blurred, but with Cabaret that line was just gone. I want to stay in the safe bosom of a TV set – I think I’m going to have to wait at least five years to do another play.”
The White Lotus season 3 airs on Sunday, February 16 at 9pm on HBO. Fans in the UK can watch on NOW TV or Sky Atlantic from 2am on Monday, February 17.
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