Aimee Lou Wood: Get to Know the Charming ‘White Lotus’ Actress and Her Rise to Fame
From her adorable smile to her sweet personality, we've been a fan since 'Sex Education'
With her bubbly personality, British wit and charming smile we can’t get enough of, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Aimee Lou Wood has found great success on the screen over the last few years.
Though she first rose to fame back in 2019 when she took on the role of Aimee Gibbs in Netflix’s Sex Education, she was honing her craft on the stage in the years prior, studying at both The Oxford School of Drama and The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
These days, she’s a face that’s back in the rotation as she brings to life the role of Chelsea in season 3 of HBO’s hit anthology series The White Lotus. Here, get to know the British starlet of stage and screen.
Aimee Lou Wood’s rise to stardom—from the stage to Netflix
Before kicking off her television career on Sex Education, Wood was building her resume on the stage, performing in works like Mary Stuart, People, Places and Things, Uncle Vanya, Downstate and more. In 2019, Wood began playing the part of Aimee in Netflix’s Sex Education, a part that she didn’t initially think was meant for her. When she first read the script, she instantly felt connected to the character of Aimee, but she actually auditioned for the part of Tanya instead.
“Aimee is one of the popular girls and I just had this complex,” she told The Guardian back in 2020. “I thought they wouldn’t cast someone with goofy teeth as the popular girl in a Netflix show.” Luckily, the role of Aimee would eventually be hers. Her character starts out as a member of “The Untouchables,” a popular clique at her school, but her kindness and character development throughout the series make her a fan favorite to this day.
Aimee Lou Wood on playing Chelsea in ‘The White Lotus’
After Sex Education, Wood continued making herself known on the screen, acting in series like Alice & Jack and Daddy Issues, but it’s her most recent role in The White Lotus that really has people talking. Wood originated the role of Chelsea in the third season of this revered series, a free-spirited young woman traveling with her older boyfriend, Rick, played by Walton Goggins.
“I felt so honored to play Chelsea because it felt like she was that part of Mike [White, show creator] that is the optimist, that does have hope and that leads with her heart,” Wood told Elle. “She’s an actor’s dream because she is just all feeling. She could take a bit more time, I think, to have some thought. She just tends to [be] stream of consciousness and just go for it. And she’s pretty impulsive, but she is an Aries, so that is inevitable.”
One of the most interesting aspects of her character is her relationship with boyfriend Rick. His character seems uninterested and bothered by her optimism, but for Wood, conveying her unconditional infatuation with this seemingly complicated man was a fun journey. Despite that from a viewer’s perspective, Chelsea and Rick’s relationship gives off toxic vibes, for Wood, playing the part meant perpetually wearing rose-colored glasses.
“I had to play it completely from her point of view, not judge the relationship and be like [swoony voice]: ‘The cosmos brought us together, he is my soulmate.’ Because she’s decided that that’s the truth, she’s willing to overlook a lot of behaviors that might not be great,” she told The Face. “But Rick and Chelsea do go on quite a surprising journey.”
Want to see what’s next for Aimee Lou Wood in The White Lotus? Stream season 3 now on Max and tune in to new episodes on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and streaming on Max.
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