Bridgerton season 4's Yerin Ha explains Sophie's important last name change
2 February 2026, 18:09
In the books, Sophie's surname is Beckett. In the show, it's Baek. Here's what that means to Yerin Ha who plays the beloved character.
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Bridgerton fans all over the world are falling in love with Yerin Ha's Sophie Baek, and the star has now praised showrunner Jess Brownell for a powerful gesture when developing the show's version of the character.
In the books, Sophie is named Sophie Beckett but similar to the way in which the series changed Kate and Edwina's surname (from Sheffield to Sharma) to honour Simone Ashley and Charithra Chandran's South Asian heritage, Sophie's name has been changed to honour Yerin's Korean heritage.
In an interview with Netflix's Tudum about the character, Yerin has now opened up about what that change means to her.
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In Julia Quinn's book series, Sophie is known as Sophie Bennett. In the Netflix series, Sophie is named Sophie Baek.
Speaking to Tudum about Sophie's name change, Yerin said: "A name is the first bit of identity that you share with the world, and that’s why changing a name can be so powerful."
"To make Sophie’s name fit someone who looks like me is really empowering. All credit to Jess Brownell, our showrunner.”
Yerin was also instrumental in choosing Sophie's surname when Jess Brownell asked about Korean last names that begin with a B. They ended up settling on Baek.
"It’s a really nice way for me to feel like the role is fit for me, rather than me having to fit a certain mold," Yerin added. "It’s amazing what it can do just in a psychological sense. So it means a lot that Jess did that for me."
Araminta, Rosamund and Posy's names have all been changed to reflect Katie Leung, Michelle Mao and Isabella Wei's East Asian cultures too.
Araminta's surname in the books is Gunningworth, which has been shorted to Gun in the TV series. Rosamund and Posy's surname in the books is Reiling, which has also been changed to Li in the show.
Speaking to Harper's Bazaar UK, Katie revealed that she was also asked if she, Michelle and Isabella wanted to "speak a line of Cantonese as part of the story. The offer wasn’t forced, but was there if we wanted it. Those little nods make all the difference."
Read more about Bridgerton here:
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- Bridgerton's Claudia Jessie says there's "definitely room" for Eloise to be queer
- Bridgerton's Brimsley actor confirms Reynolds is still alive and will return
- Bridgerton renewed for seasons 5 and 6 but fans will have to wait years to watch them
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