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• India plays young Queen Charlotte in the prequel series.
• India began her career on the stage.
• India is from England.

India Amarteifio is about to have a moment. The actress is stepping into the Bridgerton spotlight and playing a young version of Queen Charlotte in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, which will premiere on May 5. The Netflix series explores Queen Charlotte and her love story with King George III.

So, who is India Amarteifio? The 21-year-old is about to be a household name. HollywoodLife has rounded up 5 key things to know about India.

1. India plays young Queen Charlotte.

India stars as the 17-year-old version of Queen Charlotte in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Golda Rosheuvel plays the older version of the Queen in the Bridgerton series. Queen Charlotte chronicles the royal’s early years of marriage to King George III, played by Corey Mylchreest. India told Vogue that creator Shonda Rhimes and director/EP Tom Verica “were adamant that they didn’t want me to emulate anything that Golda had done—I could create my own Charlotte. As a teenager, she’s very inquisitive and headstrong. She knows herself but she’s also not afraid to falter. Her actual history gave me more than I needed in terms of background.”

India admitted that she identifies with Charlotte because she’s mixed race. “I’ve got a white mum and my dad is Black—born in London, but with Ghanaian ancestry—so I can relate to her in terms of not really knowing where you fit in,” India continued. “I know what it’s like to walk into a room and have everyone look at you because you’re the only person of color. There are so many scenes, especially early on in the series, where Charlotte does exactly that. In those moments, you feel alone and awkward, and it can be uncomfortable to talk about it, but by writing those scenes, Shonda’s starting that conversation and showing people that they aren’t alone. She’s also created spaces where you’re not alone as a person of color, and she’s diversifying these genres that, before this, weren’t really open to people like me.”

2. India got her start on West End.

India played Young Nala in The Lion King on West End. She eventually joined the cast of Matilda the Musical and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She began performing when she was around 10 years old.

3. India was initially a dancer before discovering acting.

During her Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance, India explained how she discovered acting. “I used to dance, and I injured myself. And then I realized I probably shouldn’t be doing this all the time. But I loved the kind of storytelling aspect of dance, and then I watched Call Me By Your Name when I was like 15 and went, ‘I need to make someone feel like how I felt watching that.'”

4. India said watching the show with her mom was a “bonding experience.”

India and her mother watched Queen Charlotte ahead of the show’s premiere, even those steamy scenes. She said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that it was a “bonding experience like no other.” She also noted, “I just felt like I had to jump in at the deep and just show her all the steamy scenes, get it out of the way, and then we can just, you know, move past it.”

5. India is learning to play an instrument during her time off.

The actress told Vogue that she is “learning the bass guitar” and is “enjoying having a bit of a break at the moment after six months of quite intense filming.” However, she’d love to do more theater in the future.

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