In Defence of Aimee Lou Wood

Illustrations by Grace McKenna

Content warning: contains The White Lotus spoilers and references to sexual assault and eating disorders.

Aimee Lou Wood’s career thus far typifies the reality of being a young woman in the television and film industry. Since audiences were first introduced to her in Netflix’s hit-series Sex Education, the actress’s overbite has generated a ridiculous amount of discourse. Wood’s smile is now being bought up again following her role in HBO’s third-season of The White Lotus. One need only watch Saturday Night Live’s recent sketch satirising the unscrupulous Trump administration within its fictional luxury resort setting, which includes a needless caricature of the actress by the comic Sarah Sherman. SNL has since issued a rare apology after Wood nobly took to Instagram to criticise the totally unfunny and completely irrelevant portrayal of her overbite and Manucian accent within a commentary on the US government. She points out that whilst politicians should not be above mockery, SNL chose to ridicule Aimee herself, and not her character, by having Sherman, in absurdly large prosthetic teeth, quizzically ask “Fluoride? What’s that?”, implying Wood lacks dental hygiene. What should have been the Stockport-born star’s big break has been dampened by this strange obsession with her appearance. Despite her many accolades, from winning a BAFTA to starring as the flapper girl Sally Bowles in the West End revival of Cabaret, Wood is being tormented by trolls and journalists alike because of her two front teeth, and not her talent.

The 31-year-old actress admits she often considers herself to be “ugly”. In a recent interview with GQ, she reflects upon her disbelief after being cast in the most recent The White Lotus instalment, thinking she was too awkward and unconventional for the production company HBO to be interested in her. HBO, after all, has produced the biggest and sexiest television hits of the 2020s, including Euphoria, where viewers are expected to believe an ensemble of polished and perfect twenty to thirty-somethings are in fact high-schoolers. Wood’s “wonky ‘British’ teeth”, as The Telegraph chose to describe them, seem incongruous to this American glitter and glamour. Indeed, Los Angeles has become the veneer capital of the world  in recent years, with most actors revealing frighteningly bright rows of impeccable whiteness when they flash a smile for the camera. Watch any interview of Wood, however, and it is hard to reconcile these harsh comments with the charismatic, red-lipped actress who could easily be mistaken for a 60s starlet.

Wood’s experiences prove stardom is still disturbingly superficial. Commentaries suggest Wood is brave for not altering her smile. Vanity Fair even described her overbite as a “revelation”. Interviewers often freely comment on Wood’s distinctive teeth as she sits opposite them, looking decidedly fed-up. These reactions to her smile are deeply troubling. It seems people are surprised, verging on incredulous, that Wood is not more insecure. In doing so, critics normalise putting oneself through painful and potentially dangerous plastic surgery procedures. They imply that embracing your natural features, like Wood has, is unusual. Her recent appearance on The Jonathon Ross Show even saw her couch of fellow A-listers unashamedly discussing her overbite, to which Wood tactfully responded, “I can’t believe the impact my teeth are having”. She has since, with admirable exactitude, told people to simply “stop f****** talking” about her smile.

In fact, Wood’s smile has not faded. Her career is undoubtedly flourishing. She received critical acclaim following her portrayal of Aimee Gibbs in Sex Education, a hit-series about the fumbles and follies of lustful teenagers at a sixth-form college. After she is sexually assaulted on a bus in the show’s second series, Aimee withdraws from her family and friends as she navigates her trauma. Previously, Aimee had been something akin to a Shakespearean comic-relief, the sweet and bubbly best friend to Emma Mackey’s Maeve Wiley, the show’s erudite but hardened female-lead. Aimee’s storyline resonated with many sexual assault survivors and, in 2021, led to her winning a BAFTA for Best Female Comedy Performance. Since then, Wood has performed on the West End stage and acted alongside Bill Nighy in the Oscar-nominated film Living. Her role as Chelsea in The White Lotus means this familiar British face now has international fame. Her character’s death in the season finale has broken the hearts of many viewers, who were taken with Chelsea’s naïve, doe-like optimism.

Wood has never been one to avoid difficult topics, including her body dysmorphia and the eating disorders she developed at drama school. Wood has also vocalised her support for having intimacy coordinators on every set. She recalls how very vulnerable she felt acting in nude scenes in the first series of Sex Education, which she now realises were unnecessary and required her to expose her body before she was fully ready to do so in her recovery. Wood now champions that younger female actresses require better protection in the film and television industry. Indeed, she is as articulate as she is hilarious.

Ultimately, Wood’s teeth are the least interesting thing about her. She is rumoured to be joining the cast of Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopic as the eclectic and sultry Pattie Boyd. The actress’s resemblance to a young Shelly Duvall, meanwhile, suggests she would make the perfect final girl in any horror film. In her slightly chaotic interviews, she is sometimes shy, sometimes ballsy, but always totally relatable. The fascination people have with Wood’s overbite is outrageous and demeaning. Yet, she shines despite it all. Wood is a bright young British talent who refuses to let Hollywood’s vanity stand in her way. And for that, we should admire her.