Cressida Bonas has told how people are constantly trying to “label” her as she tries to forge her career on stage and screen.
The actress, 30, is the star of ITV’s new crime drama White House Farm.
In this week’s ES Magazine, Bonas —who made her theatrical debut at the 2014 Hay Festival in There’s A Monster In The Lake — said she still feels “labelled” as a result of her past.
She hinted at her frustration at “always” being asked about her relationship with Prince Harry, from whom she split six years ago.
She was introduced to Harry in 2012 by Princess Eugenie and they dated for two years. Bonas is now engaged to estate agent Harry Wentworth-Stanley.
She said: “No one likes to be labelled. The hurdles for me are when I’m trying to do my work and people want to talk about him. I work very hard and love what I do but it is still something I have to contend with.”
Bonas, the daughter of Sixties “It girl” Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon and entrepreneur Jeffrey Bonas, attended the 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
When asked if she felt for the Duchess of Sussex, a fellow actress, for the scrutiny she receives, Bonas said: “I wouldn’t take a position on that because it would be a headline. Also out of respect. It feels like a long time ago. When it comes up it feels strange because I’m in a different place.” Despite enjoying success on stage and screen, Bonas said she was “afraid of failure” when starting her career. She has turned her struggles into a podcast, Fear Itself.
“It came from thinking about fear in my own life, how it has held me back but also pushed me forward,” she said. “I have anxious thoughts and I was afraid of failure. I started writing these fears in a journal and thought it would be interesting to make a recording about them, talking to people about fear and how it can motivate them.”
Bonas made her film debut in Harvey Weinstein’s 2017 movie Tulip Fever. She said the disgraced film executive, who is on trial accused of rape and sexual assault — claims he denies — never behaved inappropriately towards her.
“He didn’t do anything weird,” she said. “What has happened since is such a progression, there is a lot more care being taken on set.”
Full interview in ES Magazine— free every Thursday and Friday.
