Meet Aimee-Lou Wood, star of Sex Education and The White Lotus: she got into acting to make friends – now she stars alongside the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch and Blackpink’s Lisa
Rising star Aimee-Lou Wood recently stepped out for The White Lotus premiere with Patrick Schwarzenegger and Blackpink’s Lisa, and has been open about her mental health struggles on the way up
Actress Aimee-Lou Wood looked ready to check in to the White Lotus as she arrived on the red carpet for the premiere of the beloved HBO series’ third season in Los Angeles on February 10.
Wood, who previously garnered attention for her central role in Netflix’s comedy series Sex Education, is taking on the role of Chelsea, a free-spirited Manchester native. Chelsea stays at The White Lotus in Thailand with her much older boyfriend, played by actor Walton Goggins.
As the series hits our screens, here’s everything you need to know about Aimee-Lou Wood.
She got into acting by accident
Growing up in Stockport, a small town in Greater Manchester, England, Aimee-Lou Wood used to write plays and made her sister perform them, according to Teen Vogue. Because of her shy nature, she never ventured to act out her own plays until she joined the drama club at school in an effort to make friends.
“Then my studies kind of went out the window,” she said in 2019. “I was actually really studious and well-behaved but then became the class clown. But it’s kind of all happened for a reason because then I ended up going to Rada [Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]. So, yeah, basically just trying to get friends is how I got into acting.”
Landing her breakout role in Sex Education
Wood took part in several productions at Rada, but when she auditioned for Sex Education’s sex-crazed Lily Iglehart, which eventually went to actress Tanya Reynolds, she landed the role of the ditsy and lovable Aimee Gibbs in the series instead.