All About Bridgerton Newcomer Hannah Dodd, Who Plays Francesca in Season 3

Hannah Dodd has joined the Bridgerton family.

Netflix announced in May 2022 that the Englsh actress is slated to play Francesca Bridgerton in season 3 of the record-breaking series (replacing actress Ruby Stokes, who will be leaving to film Lockwood & Co.)

"Francesca Bridgerton is a bit of a mystery within her chatty, extroverted family," Netflix said in a statement at the time. "Despite her reserved nature, she goes along to get along when it comes to society affairs, fortified with a dry wit and pragmatism that confound the fickle ton yet seem to draw attention when she least desires it."

Dodd opened up to PEOPLE on the red carpet at the Bridgerton season 3 premiere in May 2024 about joining the cast and her experiences filming on set. "They're the funniest group of people ever. It's hell for me because I'm laughing my way through all of these scenes," she said. "They're just the best people."

Bridgerton aside, Dodd's recent works include her starring role in Netflix's Anatomy of a Scandal — playing the younger version of Sienna Miller's character, Sophie Whitehouse — and 2021's Eternals, She portraying Sprite in disguise as Sandra.

She then went on to shoot one of the leads in the miniseries Flowers in the Attic: The Origins, a 2022 adaptation of V.C. Andrews' controversial romance novels set to premiere in July. Additionally, she starred opposite Millie Bobby Brown in the 2020's Enola Holmes.

From Dodd's prestigious dance background to her modeling gig with Romeo Beckham, here are some fun facts about the actress.

She is from England

Dodd is from Leavenheath, a village on the Essex-Suffolk border in England. She has two sisters, Willa and Alice Dodd.

She studied dance in college

Dodd attended school in London, where she studied dance and worked towards a performing arts degree. She went to London Studio Centre, a prestigious educational institution accredited by the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre.

"Dancing has always been a passion of mine from a young age," she told British Vogue in 2014. "I am training in ballet, contemporary, jazz and musical theatre, which I think is my favorite as I'd love to get into acting, too."

She modeled alongside Romeo Beckham

Dodd was signed to Select Model Management at age 16 and has worked with top brands and designers such as Olay, Covergirl, and Bulgari.

Her first major modeling gig that kickstarted her career was a Burberry 2014 holiday campaign (which also starred a young Romeo Beckham).

"It was my first big job, and [they've] been really understanding as I am in full-time education, so my time is limited," she said per Glamour. "At the moment I'm focusing on finishing my degree, but I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with modeling."

She landed her first acting job right out of college

Dodd nabbed the starring role as Thea in Hulu's Find Me in Paris right after college. Despite it being a "kid's show," she told Marie Claire UK in 2021 that she learned so much from the job — and it was her favorite as well!

"We shot for six months over multiple seasons, so I spent a lot of time with that character, and I saw her in lots of different scenarios and got to really get to know her as a character," she said.

She was professionally trained in ballet

Dodd was able to combine her love of dancing and acting when she was cast in Find Me in Paris, following her character's journey to become a ballerina at the Opéra de Paris. Despite being a dancer from a young age, she had to fake her pirouette prowess for the role.

"I'm not good at ballet!" Dodd told Marie Claire UK. "There is a difference between being a jazz dancer and an elite Paris Opera ballet dancer, so I had to work extremely hard!"

She is no stranger to corsets

Corsets are a costume staple for the Bridgerton characters, but Francesca won't have to get used to being laced up as Francesca; thanks to her role in Harlots, she's had experience with the period piece of clothing.

Harlots, which starred Samantha Morton and Lesley Manville, took place in 18th century England as well. The show, which followed the fortunes of a family in the brothel industry, was cancelled after season 3.

She has traveled the world

As an actress and model, Dodd's job has allowed her to travel — but outside of work, she's visited some really unique places all over the world and shares them to her Instagram.

Some of those destinations include the Taj Mahal and Himalayas in India, Mount Batur in Indonesia, the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, and beautiful waterfalls in Bali.

She was 'really nervous' to join the Bridgerton cast

Dodd told PEOPLE exclusively about her initial thoughts joining the Bridgerton family, admitting that nerves were high at the time.

“I was really nervous about joining,” she said. “But yeah, they just welcomed me with open arms, and I was having banter with them in the green room on my first day, and now I can't imagine not knowing any of them. It's the weirdest idea that I wouldn't know them.”

Despite her first-day jitters, Dodd told PEOPLE “it was the best feeling ever” to join the cast of Bridgerton for its third installment.

“I couldn't really believe it. I think I was with my family at the time, which was really nice, so I was surrounded by people that I wanted to tell straight away,” she said of being cast. “But it was definitely... I think it's the biggest one I've ever got. So, it was quite a special moment.”