At the 21st GLAMOUR Women of the Year Awards 2022, in partnership with Samsung, we're honouring those women who aren't afraid to challenge the status quo and reshape the world. From activism to acting, our winners are working across a variety of industries to make the world a better, more equal place.
And after a whirlwind year, it was Charithra Chandran who stole the show at the GLAMOUR Women of the Year 2022 awards with her epic, empowering acceptance speech as she claimed her Samsung Rising Star award.
The Bridgerton star, 25, who played Edwina Sharma in the second series of the Netflix period drama, told the room: “To be in a room of such a beautifully diverse group of people is incredibly soul nourishing and almost certainly pisses off our current home secretary, health secretary and the whole government. It really sort of begs the question ”what am I doing here? Your guess is as good as mine. To be honest, for a moment of real honesty, when GLAMOUR wanted to honour me with this award, my first feeling was of embarrassment actually because I felt undeserving. I felt like an imposter. I spoke to my girlfriends about this and within a few minutes, I realised that that feeling of being unworthy of one's accomplishments is tragically a universal experience for women."
The incredible actor continued: "We are often made to feel that we are lucky to have access to certain spaces. That we have achieved things because of positive discrimination, a tickbox exercise. It is to shrink us; to stop us asking for more and demanding better. It certainly kept me insecure.
“We as women know how hard it is - we have to fight and work for everything we have, whether that is equal pay, equal work or body autonomy. As I speak to you in real time, I am sick of that. I don't want it anymore. I reject that. Me accepting this award is me rejecting that. Me acknowledging that I have worked so hard. I have sacrificed so much, as we all have to be in this room. I am not going to let society take this achievement from me. I encourage every woman out there to do the same. Have pride in evetthing that you do and eveything that you are… because you are so deserving.”
The inspiring star wowed in a glamorous black dress by Rokh, which featured a bedazzled halterneck and panel detailing, and fell to the floor, showing off her Jimmy Choo heels. She accessorised with Smiling Rocks jewellery.
Her raven locks were styled in an old-school Hollywood glamour updo, with her hairstylist Patrick Wilson revealing that he took inspiration from Audrey Hepburn in the classic movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. Detailing the creative process, Charithra's make-up artist Kenneth Soh stated that because her look was so glamorously feminine, he wanted to add a bit more sass with jet-black eyeliner.
Charithra soared to fame earlier this year following her turn in season two of Bridgerton, with her and Simone Ashley's characters making waves for South Asian representation on mainstream television.
As GLAMOUR's Samsung Rising Star recipient, Charithra has a slew of upcoming projects, such as the film How to Date Billy Walsh alongside The Big Bang Theory's Kunal Nayyar and the television series Song of the Sun God. Here's to more continued success for Charithra Chandran!
