Ashley Madekwe Takes Us Behind the Scenes of Her Dr. Death Premiere Look

There are a handful of people we consider to be Who What Wear OGs—women we’ve adored and consistently covered since our early days—and Ashley Madekwe is one of them. Naturally, we loved her turn as Ashley Davenport on Revenge and later her performance in the 2019 film County Lines, but we’ve also long appreciated the Brit’s penchant for great style, something we have heavily documented on the site throughout the years. So when we saw the actor return to the red carpet for the season two premiere of Dr. Death, in a beautiful Oscar de la Renta number no less, we were utterly delighted she agreed to give Who What Wear all the noteworthy details.

For the occasion, Madekwe selected a black two-piece set consisting of a lace-detail off-the-shoulder top and slouchy trousers from Oscar de la Renta’s S/S 23 collection. The mood for the evening: "Elevated and chic but with an edge,” Madekwe tells us. All-black has been the theme for Madekwe’s Dr. Death press run, which also included looks by Tod’s and the Danish brand Gestuz, but she promises it was a mere coincidence. "It just ended up that all the looks we loved the most happened to be black. … And Sophie is in her emo phase!” Madekwe and her stylist Sophie Lopez like to approach every fitting with a certain vibe in mind but also keep an open mind to what’s available and what feels good on. The Oscar de la Renta was an immediate standout to Madekwe when she saw it hanging on the rack, but she did reveal there was one other contender that almost made the cut, a long brown gown. "Once I put the Oscar look on, we KNEW,” she says. The set fit Madekwe perfectly, no alterations needed.

To complement the top’s delicate off-the-shoulder silhouette, Madekwe and Lopez opted for a chunky pair of gold earrings, a nod to both of their South London roots, which added the right amount of drama. Finishing touches included Alevì Milano heels and Kallati jewels. For glam, it was important her look didn’t compete with or overshadow the outfit, so Madekwe enlisted the help of her go-to team, makeup artist Jo Baker and hairstylist Coree Moreno. Bronzed skin and a clean eye were punctuated with a vampy lip, while hair was sleek with the added touch of some laid edges and baby hairs. 

The final look was equal parts sophisticated and cool, aka the Madekwe special.

As for what we can expect from Madekwe on screen, she describes her Dr. Death character, Dr. Ana Lasbrey, as an incredibly driven and ambitious surgeon who finds herself close to a deadly colleague. Based on the Wondery podcast, Dr. Death: Miracle Man is the second season of the Peacock true crime anthology series and follows the real-life story of Dr. Paolo Macchiarini (Edgar Ramirez), a pioneer in the field of regenerative medicine who, while dazzling the medical community with his groundbreaking "biosynthetic tracheas,” was also secretly killing his transplant patients. "[Ana is] utterly charmed by his charisma and fame and really believes that the work they’re doing will help people,” Madekwe adds. "Eventually she becomes a part of the whistleblower team who expose Dr. Macchiarini and his lies. I was really drawn in by her journey and the choices she has to make.”

For Madekwe, a self-proclaimed true crime fanatic, joining the Dr. Death series was a no-brainer. "I was already a fan of season one, and when I read the scripts for season two, I knew immediately that I wanted to be involved,” she says. "The writing is excellent, and the story has everything I loved about the first season but with the added drama of a love story. I found it so compelling.” Suspense, drama, and Madekwe—count us in!

Dr. Death season two starts streaming on Peacock December 21.