‘Bridgerton’: Golda Rosheuvel’s Shocking Career Path Before Becoming An Actor
Netflix‘s hit show Bridgerton has captured audiences everywhere thanks to its gripping story and incredible cast of characters. The period drama follows the Bridgerton family and the happenings of high society in 19th-century London, all narrated by the legendary Julie Andrews.
Golda Rosheuvel plays TV’s first Black Queen on ‘Bridgerton’
Bridgerton is the first show produced by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix under her new multi-year deal with the streaming giant. Much like Grey’s Anatomy, How to Get Away With Murder, and Scandal, Bridgerton has been successful because there are no other shows like it with the same creative force behind it.
Bridgerton also welcomes all-star actors to many roles from history, the most notable of which is Queen Charlotte. Guyanese-British actor Golda Rosheuvel plays Charlotte, making her first time a Black woman has portrayed a British royal on TV.
The conscious decision to have a Black queen wasn’t entirely creative liberty. According to many historians, Queen Charlotte had African ancestry, and was ridiculed for her physical features by high-powered figures in England, including a prime minister.
Golda Rosheuvel was on a different career path before she became an actor
Rosheuvel got her start as a theatre actor in London and has worked in many iconic stage shows throughout her career. She has experience with Shakespeare, having played Lady Macbeth in Macbeth as well as acted in Romeo and Juliet and The Winter’s Tale. She’s also appeared in Porgy and Bess, Angels in America, and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Rosheuvel crossed over into film and TV, which is often a difficult transition for some stage actors to make. Not Rosheuvel, however: in an interview with supermodel Naomi Campbell on her web series No Filter with Naomi, she deviated from the stereotype and admitted she loves acting in movies and TV shows.
But before she got into acting, Rosheuvel was on an entirely different career trajectory. Her parents were artistically-minded and often filled the house with music, but she saw a different future for herself.
“I had all this music around me, but I was passionate about sports,” Rosheuvel said, to Campbell’s surprise. “I was going to be an athlete.”
What made Golda Rosheuvel change careers
Campbell asked Rosheuvel more about her career in sports and what she played, and Rosheuvel mentioned British Olympic medalist Jessica Ennis. Ennis competed in several track and field events that combined different sports and was a champion in the heptathlon and pentathlon.
Rosheuvel said that had she kept up it, she could’ve competed in the Olympic decathlon. “I was good at the long jump, the javelin, the 100 meters, the 100 meters relay,” Rosheuvel continued, “so I trained for the Olympics at a young age.” She went on describe how successful her career as a track and field athlete was as she set records and earned medals all around the UK in her teen years.
Campbell praised her for her hard work, and commented that training for the Olympics taught her about the discipline and dedication that an acting career also requires. Rosheuvel agreed, and credited that time of her life for instilling in her what real discipline was.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and that included Rosheuvel’s path to the Olympics. “What turned the corner for me and took me down the road of acting and singing was I got an injury. I sprained my ankle,” Rosheuvel admitted. When Campbell asked her if it was an “injury of fate,” the Bridgerton star shrugged, smiled, and said, “I think so.”
