Angel Coulby

Angel Coulby (and yes, there is only one)

A British actress (born 30th August 1980) who has appeared in a number of British television shows, including Doctor Who and Hustle, but is best known for her role as Guinevere in the BBC's fantasy series Merlin - a revisionist take on the character in which she grows from a lowly servant to the future Queen of Camelot.

Loved by directors for her versatility, and loved by fans for her ability to go from Adorkable to Regal to everything inbetween. So...they love her for the same thing really.

Angel Coulby provides examples of the following tropes:

• Ability Over Appearance: Given the time-period and the fact that Guinevere means "white" or "fair one", there were some raised eyebrows over Angel getting the part of the medieval queen. The producers said that they had looked at hundreds of potential Guineveres, but Angel was the only one that could nail the quirky, clumsy servant girl, but also "bring the queen" when the occasion called for it.
• Aluminum Christmas Trees: Angel getting the role of Guinevere was derided by many as being anachronistic (despite the show being set in a fairy-tale kingdom). Even if the show wasn't an Anachronism Stew anyway, the presence of non-white people in pre-Saxon England is certainly not as out of the question as the complainers like to say it is.
• Badass Damsel: Guinevere, who can also fall under the Real Women Never Wear Dresses debate. Angel defends her character's role in interviews:

There are other ways of being strong. It’s not just about being tough and fighting. It’s about emotional strength and wisdom. I think young girls can learn a lot from that as well. It’s not about feistiness.

• Beauty Mark
• Brown Eyes
• But Not Too Black: Pleasantly Averted as the show goes on. In the promotional shots for series two she appears quite fair, yet in the shots for series four (the season in which she becomes Queen of Camelot), she is portrayed as considerably darker.
• Butt Monkey: If the behind-the-scenes stuff on Merlin is to be believed. When Bradley and Colin are left to their own devices, pranks begin, and they're usually directed at her.
• Ironic Name: According to co-star Bradley James, he should be called Angel, and Angel should be called "hussy."
• Like Brother and Sister: With Colin Morgan.
• One-Scene Wonder: She turns up at the end of Imagine Me and You and makes you wish that the whole movie had been about her.
• Salt and Pepper: With Katie McGrath as Guinevere and Morgana.
• She Really Can Act: Not that there was much doubt of Angel's talent, but Gwen was always a rather low-key character...until 4x09 of Merlin in which the writers finally let her unleash. She consequently steals the episode away from everyone.
• Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Trailer: A constant source of frustration for her fans considering she's sidelined or just plain not there in almost every Merlin trailer to date.
• What Beautiful Eyes!