Katie Leung, once best known as the bright-eyed Cho Chang from the Harry Potter films, is stepping into altogether different shoes this year. The Scottish actress, now 38, is set to dazzle audiences as Lady Araminta Gun—a twice-widowed, formidable aristocrat—in the much-anticipated fourth season of Netflix’s Bridgerton. It’s a role that promises intrigue, family drama, and more than a little scheming, all set against the show’s signature swirl of romance and Regency-era opulence.
Leung’s journey to this point has been anything but straightforward. Catapulted into the spotlight at just sixteen, she reflects candidly on the challenges of sudden fame. “I don’t think I did,” she told The Guardian when asked how she coped with the whirlwind of attention. “It was overwhelming from the get-go. Being in the spotlight from that age, when you’re already insecure, was difficult, to say the least.” She admits that, at the time, acting provided an escape from school, which she didn’t enjoy, but the long-term impact of that early fame is something she’s still unraveling.
Those years in the public eye were not without hardship. Leung was subjected to racist abuse online, a reality that left her “less outgoing” and “very self-aware.” She recalls, “At that age, you’re curious. I remember being very curious about what people were saying about me, and I was Googling myself. Nobody could have stopped me, because I was old enough to make up my own mind.” The barrage of negativity, she says, “just sat with me, and it affected me in ways like, ‘Oh yeah, I made that decision because people were saying this about me.’”
Despite these challenges, Leung has built a career that extends far beyond the wizarding world. She’s appeared in the BBC drama Annika and lent her voice to the Netflix animated series Arcane. But it’s her latest turn in Bridgerton that has fans buzzing. Lady Araminta Gun is not your typical period drama matriarch. Twice-married and twice-widowed, she’s determined to secure advantageous matches for her two daughters, Rosamund Li (played by Michelle Mao) and Posy Li (Isabella Wei). The plot thickens as Araminta sets her sights on Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), hoping to pair him with one of her daughters—while keeping her stepdaughter, Sophie, relegated to the role of a Cinderella-like servant.
Leung approaches the role with relish. “Absolutely not,” she laughs, when asked if she minded being cast as a mother instead of a romantic lead. “I look young for my age—as most people in the West think Asians do—but I felt really seen to finally get to play the role of a mother.” In reality, Leung is herself a mother to a three-year-old son, a fact that deepens her connection to Lady Araminta’s motivations. “Her drive comes from love and protection for her daughters. I get it, having become a mum. You will do anything for your kids.”
Still, Lady Araminta isn’t all sweetness and light. The character can be harsh, especially toward her stepdaughter, Sophie. Yet Leung is quick to defend her. “I would never call her evil because I adore her—I think she’s absolutely fabulous. She’s just heavily misunderstood.” According to Leung, the showrunners were keen to avoid a one-dimensional villain. “They wanted to find the humanity in Araminta. They wanted to ensure I knew her background, her struggles, why she makes these decisions, and why she’s so formidable.”
Part of what makes this season of Bridgerton stand out is its continued commitment to diversity—not just in casting, but in the stories it tells. Leung, who has spoken openly about the limitations she’s faced as an Asian actress in the UK, finds the show’s approach refreshing. “We’re getting there, and especially with a role like Araminta in Bridgerton, being able to play a mother who has daughters—this kind of family dynamic is something I feel is always lacking. That’s where we need to try and get to now.” She acknowledges that progress has been slow, but it’s happening. “Their inclusion and diversity behind and in front of the camera is just… You can see it and feel it, and that made me feel really safe to be able to kind of play as an actor.”
Of course, not everyone is thrilled with every aspect of the new season. When Netflix announced that Season 4 would be released in two parts—Part 1 premiering January 29, 2026, and Part 2 on February 26, 2026—fans took to social media to vent their frustration. Comments ranged from tongue-in-cheek (“I’ll be in a nursing home at the bingo table before the last seasons drop…”) to exasperated calls for an end to the trend of splitting seasons.
Leung and her fellow cast members—including Yerin Ha, who plays Sophie Baek—recently turned heads at the Vanity Fair EE BAFTA 2025 Rising Star Party in London, their dazzling period costumes sparking excitement for what’s to come. Leung is especially enthusiastic about the wardrobe. “But if there’s anything that I can say, I mean, the costumes. They’re always brilliant on that show, but hers are something else.”
For Leung, joining a juggernaut like Bridgerton feels both familiar and new. “I feel really blessed, genuinely,” she says. “It feels quite familiar, in a sense. Also I’m older, and at a place in my life where I’m not too fazed going into something seemingly so huge.” The experience of Harry Potter—with all its highs and lows—has given her perspective. She’s learned to keep a healthy distance from the relentless noise of online fandom, focusing instead on her craft and her life outside of work. “I still care about the craft [of acting], I still want to do well, but I can park it once I’m done for the day and go home and live this other life. It’s more like a job for me than the be-all and end-all, which is how I felt about acting when I was in my 20s.”
Leung’s path hasn’t always been easy. Raised mainly by her grandmother in Scotland after her parents split when she was three, she’s spoken about the impact of growing up without her mother around. But she credits those experiences with shaping who she is today. “It’s such a huge part of my identity, it’s not something I can ignore and say it didn’t have a huge impact on my life. But because I’m really happy with where I am and who I am, [although there is] obviously still lots of work to be done, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Looking ahead, Leung is excited for audiences to meet Lady Araminta Gun—a character as complex and compelling as any she’s played. “You might think differently [about her] when you see the final episode,” she teases, hinting at surprises in store. For Leung, and for Bridgerton fans, the new season promises not just romance and scandal, but a fresh chapter in the story of a remarkable actress who continues to defy expectations.
