Dearest gentle reader, we have very important information regarding a member of the ton. Bridgerton star Bessie Carter has been delighting fans over the past three seasons as Prudence Featherington , but fans were even more delighted to learn the 30-year-old is the only child of Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter . Imelda is perhaps best known to American audiences as the incredibly evil Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Queen Elizabeth II on The Crown , while fans will likely recognize Jim from his years-long portrayal of butler Mr.
Carson on Downton Abbey . And to say Netflix viewers were shocked that Bessie is a "nepo baby" would be putting it mildly. "Ohhhh mmmmmmyyyyy gooooodddddd," one fan commented on a May 24 TikTok sharing the "insane" news, with another writing, "Ummm EXCUSE ME?! I'm telling my kids this is the royal family.
" And as another fan put it, "A Downton abbey butler and a Harry Potter evil teacher made a featherington? Honestly that checks out." For her part, Bessie doesn't appear to hide the fact that she comes from Hollywood royalty, and often attends event with her parents—who married in 1983. The trio were most recently seen on the red carpet together at the November premiere of Jim's film Wonka , alongside Bessie's Bridgerton costar Sam Phillips .
The famous family has even worked together, appearing on the small screen during a 2010 episode of the show Cranford , while Bessie also appeared alongside her father in 2019's .