This is what Mr. Darcy would have actually looked like — and it's not pretty
It's fair to say that Colin Firth's rendition of Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice captured the hearts of countless Jane Austen fans. But a group of UK academics have discovered that Austen's fictional heartthrob Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy didn't look at all like the actors -- Colin Firth and Matthew MacFadyen -- who've played him.
The research -- led by Professor John Sutherland from University College London and Professor Amanda Vickery from Queen Mary University of London -- involved a month-long study to gain a historically accurate idea of what Darcy would have looked like. The academics looked into Austen's personal life and relationships to draw conclusions about who might have been the inspiration for Mr Darcy. They also looked into the descriptions and illustrations of the character and the socio-economic and cultural factors that would contribute to Darcy's background, appearance and lifestyle.
The study revealed that the revered Darcy would have had powdered white hair, a pointy chin, a pale complexion, a long nose and sloping shoulders. Not quite the brooding, chiselled chap portrayed on-screen by modern-day actors. And, to help you get a sense of what Darcy would have looked like, the researchers commissioned a portrait of him.
His hair, according to the research, would have been mid-length and powdered white, reflective of the norms of the Austen era. His face would have been long and oval-shaped with a small mouth -- common features among gentlemen of the era. His skin would have been pink and white; a sign of wealth and privilege. His build would have been slender, with a "modest chest", but with "large quads, thighs and calves". According to the research, strong legs were an attractive and important feature to females of the time, with "well-modelled thighs a sign of virility, a good fencer and horseman".
Unlike Colin Firth and Matthew MacFadyen -- who are both over 6ft tall -- the real Darcy would have only been 5ft 11 inches.
The study was commissioned by TV channel Drama to celebrate the "Jane Austen Season", which starts on Feb. 12, featuring Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma and Mansfield Park. Perhaps Darcy's good looks aren't a truth universally acknowledged, after all.
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Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
