How Old Are The Bridgerton Characters?

At the start of Bridgerton Season 4, Benedict is once again not one to settle down. “It is unlikely that I will ever marry,” he tells his mom, noting his desire to continue “charting a more venturesome course outside good society.”

As Penelope puts it to Queen Charlotte: “Of all the men of the ton, I would wager that Benedict Bridgerton is the least likely to marry.”

It’s clear that the Bridgertons hoped he might have outgrown the rakish behavior by now. But how old is Benedict, exactly? And what are the ages of the other Bridgerton characters — including his love interest, Sophie? As it turns out, the answer varies between the Netflix show and the Julia Quinn books on which it’s based.

The Bridgerton Characters’ Ages

For the TV show, the most conclusive age breakdown comes from the pilot shooting script, which is available via Deadline. For the books, Quinn’s website has a handy family tree with birth years. (For the sake of comparison, let’s assume each character is the age they’ll be turning that year.)

At the start of the Netflix show, Anthony is 28 years old. Each season appears to be roughly one year apart, making him 29 when he meets Kate in Season 2. The premiere script indicates that she is 26. Conversely, at the beginning of their book, The Viscount Who Loved Me, he’s 29, and she’s 20.

On screen, they should be 31 and 28 in Season 4.

Benedict begins the TV show at 26, making him 29 in Season 4.

In his book, An Offer from a Gentleman, he is 30 and Sophie is 20 when they begin a relationship. But on screen, there seems to be a smaller age gap — a 2024 casting call that appears to be for Sophie describes the character as 24-30 years old.

Colin and Penelope are 19 and 17 at the start of the Netflix show, making them 22 and 20 in Season 4. But in their book, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, they are 33 and 28.

Daphne and Simon are 18 and 28 in Bridgerton Season 1, making them 21 and 31 in Season 4 (if only they were here!). In their book, they are 21 and 29.

As for the younger half of the Bridgerton brood, their ages are the same in the show and books. Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth begin both at 17, 16, 12, and 10, respectively — making them 20, 19, 15, and 13 in Season 4.

How These Changes Impact The Show

When there are discrepancies, they tend to make sense for the story. Aging up Kate and Sophie, for example, establishes them as closer to equals with their respective partners.

And while it’s hard to fathom Penelope feeling “on the shelf” at just 19 years old, a big time jump might have felt jarring on screen. Plus, the fact that Penelope was going through a teenage identity crisis underscored the impact that her longing for Colin and her secret gig as Lady Whistledown took on her.