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Mika Simmons

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mika Simmons
Born (1976-03-18) 18 March 1976 (age 50)
Greenwich, London, UK
EducationUniversity of Leeds
Alma materDrama Studio London
Occupations
  • Actress
  • film-maker
  • writer
  • director
Years active1998–present
RelativesKeir Simmons (brother)
WebsiteMikaSimmons.com

Mika Simmons is a British actress and film-maker who is known for playing Queen Anora in the Dragon Age series,[1][2] the BAFTA winning Falling Apart,[3][4][5] the BBC's Showtrial,[6] the award-winning Rain Stops Play, and My Week with Maisy.[7][8]

Simmons is also a campaigner for women's health. In 2013, she started a charity Lady Garden Foundation, which aims to raise awareness of gynaecological cancers and fund research into treatments.[9] She interviews experts and survivors about their experiences with women's health on her podcast The Happy Vagina.[10][11][12][13]

Early life

[edit]

Simmons was born in Greenwich, London. Her brother is journalist Keir Simmons.[14] Aged six, her family moved to Somerset where she attended Wellsway Comprehensive school and joined Bristol Youth Theatre. She then attended University of Leeds to study theatre, graduating with a BA in English Literature and Theatre Studies.[15] Following graduation, Simmons moved to London to train as an actress at the Drama Studio London.[16]

Career

[edit]

In 1998, Simmons was cast in the role of "Prudence" in ITV's Frenchman's Creek, a TV film based on the novel of the same name.[17][18] In 2002, she appeared in Channel 4's TV movie, Falling Apart, a period drama, about domestic violence in a middle-class relationship in Britain.[19][20][21][22] In 2011, Simmons played in the play, You Once Said Yes, which won both the Fringe First and Total Theatre awards.[23][failed verification][24]

Simmons has appeared in the ITV drama, Unforgotten.[25][26] In 2016, she appeared in Film London's short Balcony.[27][15] The film went on to win a Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.[11] In 2019, she played a part in Us Among the Stones, directed by D.R. (Dictynna) Hood.[28][29] In 2020, she appeared in the BBC drama Showtrial.[30] In 2023, Simmons played Jill in Disruption at Off West End Park Theatre alongside Nathaniel Curtis.[31][32][33][34]

In 2019, Simmons wrote and directed her first short film, Rain Stops Play, a comedy short about sex and the sexes, featuring Tara Fitzgerald and produced by Jackie Green and Roberta Moore.[35] It won the Silver Remi for Best Comedy Short at the Houston Film Festival.[12][13] The film has been shown at Underwire Festival[36] and Portobello Film Festival[37] and premiered at Fragments Festival, Genesis Cinema, London.[38]

In 2020, Simmons started The Happy Vagina platform "dedicated to opening up the conversation around women's experience and gynaecological health"[39][26] and her podcast, in which she discusses sex and intimacy with well-known women.[40][41][42][43]

Simmons' first book The Happy Vagina was published on 4 August 2022.[44]

Activism

[edit]

Simmons is co-founder and co-chair of the Ginsburg Women's Health Board, working with government towards closing the gender health gap.[45][46]

Simmons is one of the six women who in 2013 co-founded the Lady Garden Foundation, a charity which raises awareness and funding for gynaecological health.[47][48][49] The charity has been supported by Topshop,[50] Sarah Ferguson,[51] and Princess Beatrice.[52] It has raised over £1,000,000 since 2014 to assist research at the Royal Marsden Hospital into treatments including the use of Olaparib, led by Susana Banerjee who inspired Simmons to start the foundation.[53][54]

In 2017, Simmons was chosen as one of 40 women to front Lancôme's campaign with the strapline "My power is acting" and a brief profile.[55] In 2021, Simmons was chosen as one of five Harper's Bazaar visionaries for the year.[56]

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2005 Ripley Under Ground Sandy
2010 Going Herbal June Short films
2013 Magpie Olivia Ball
2014 Through the Hawthorn Sam's Voice
2015 Westminster Girls Jess
Balcony Kate
2019 Rain Stops Play – Short film. Writer, producer & director
Us Among the Stones Rose
2020 Breach – Short film. Writer & director
All My Love Joanna Spector Short films
2021 Birthday Boy Kris
2024 The People Before Miranda
My Week with Maisy – Short film. Director
2025 The Secret Santa Project Barbara

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1998 Frenchman's Creek Prudence Television film
2000 Happy Birthday Shakespeare Sally Television film
Without Motive Rosie Series 1; episode 6: "A Rattled Man"
2002 Falling Apart Sally Television film
2003 Casualty Gemma Lynch Series 18; episode 6: "Against Protocol"
2005 Bad Girls D.I. Kitson Series 7; episode 1
2013 Dragon Age Inquisition: A World Unveiled Queen Anora Television film
2017 Unforgotten Chambers Series 2; episodes: 1 & 4
2021 Showtrial Amanda Wikinson Series 1; episodes 1–5
2025 Waterloo Road Lucy Lakes Series 15; episode 2[57]
Professor T. Kate Bryant Series 4; episode 2: "September Gardens"[58]
Cooper and Fry Sarah Runshaw Episode 3

Podcast series

[edit]
YearTitleRoleNotes
2020 The Happy Vagina Herself [10]
2021 The Capsule in Conversation Podcast Herself - Guest Series 4; episode 4
2022 The Divorce Social Series 8; episode 1
2025 When Alan Met Ray Sylvia

Web series

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2011 Dragon Age: Redemption Queen Anora Episode 1: "Tallis"

Video games

[edit]
Year Title Role (voice) Notes
2009 Dragon Age: Origins Queen Anora / Isabela / Bella / Dilwyn / other additional voices Xbox 360
2010 Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening Queen Anora / Sorcha PlayStation 3
2014 Dragon Age: Inquisition Queen Anora / Charter / Seanna PlayStation 4 / Xbox 360
2015 Dragon Age: Inquisition – Trespasser Charter PlayStation 4
2024 Dragon Age: The Veilguard Queen Anora / Charter PlayStation 5

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Award Category Nominated Work Result Ref.
2019WorldFest HoustonBest Comedy Short FilmRain Stops PlayWon[35][13][11]
Underwire Film Festival, UKEditing AwardNominated
Milwaukee Short Film FestivalFestival PrizeNominated
That Film FestivalBest of FestNominated
Portobello Film and Video FestivalGolden Trellick AwardNominated
2020Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, UKBest Short ComedyNominated
Martha's Vineyard International Film FestivalJury PrizeNominated
2021Portland Film FestivalBest International DirectorBreachWon[59]
2022Santa Barbara International Film FestivalBest Short FilmNominated
2024Cleveland International Film FestivalAudience Choice AwardMy Week with MaisyWon[60]
Cleveland International Film FestivalBest Women's Short FilmWon[60]
Short Shorts Film Festival & AsiaDiversity AwardNominated[61]
Crystal Palace International Film FestivalBest Short FilmNominated
Brighton Rocks International Film FestivalBest Short Film - DramaNominated
Short Shorts Film Festival & AsiaBest Short FilmWon[61]
Women Over 50 Film FestivalBest Drama - CommendedNominated
Sunderland Shorts Film FestivalHonourable MentionHonoured[62]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "10. Queen Anora (Dragon Age) a review of Queen Anora Theirin". www.listal.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Dragon Age: Origins – Non-Playable Characters - Fereldan Nobles / Characters - TV Tropes". www.tvtropes.org. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Falling Apart - Where to Watch and Stream Online – Entertainment.ie". www.entertainment.ie.
  4. ↑ "Falling Apart ‹ Century Films". www.centuryfilmsltd.com.
  5. ↑ "Television Craft - New Director - Fiction in 2003". www.bafta.org.
  6. ↑ "2022 Television Supporting Actress". www.bafta.org.
  7. ↑ "Immy Waterhouse - Rain Stops Play short film by Mika Simmons". Tatler. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Joanna Lumley Stars in Chemotherapy Drama 'My Week With Maisy'". www.variety.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  9. ↑ "Mika Simmons". www.huffingtonpost.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  10. 1 2 "The Best Podcasts For Love, Dating, Sex And Relationships". Grazia. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 "Prizes & Honours 2016: Youth Jury". www.berlinale.de. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
    "Balcony" (PDF). International Filmfestspiele Berlin. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Remi winners" (PDF). FilmFestivals.com. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  13. 1 2 3 "Rain Stops Play". FilmFreeway. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  14. ↑ "Princess Beatrice Gets Behind Fight Against Ovarian Cancer". NBC News. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  15. 1 2 "Mika Simmons: "Lights, Camera, Orgasm"". Vanity Fair. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  16. ↑ "Rain Stops Play". FilmFreeway. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "Mika Simmons". BFI. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  18. ↑ "Entertainment Dramatic look for ITV's Christmas offering". BBC. 24 November 1998.
  19. ↑ "Mika Simmons". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  20. ↑ "Period dramas win Baftas". BBC News. 12 May 2003. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  21. ↑ "BAFTA Awards - Television Craft: New Director - Fiction in 2003". Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  22. ↑ "BAFTA Awards - Television Craft: New Writer in 2003". Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  23. ↑ Girivan, Andrew (19 August 2011). "Nominees Announced for 2011 Total Theatre Awards". Whats on Stage.
  24. ↑ "You Once Said Yes". British Council. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  25. ↑ "Man was stabbed to death in Kensington "after refusing to give money to youths"". Joe. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  26. 1 2 Magistretti, Bérénice. ""Lights, Camera, Orgasm": An Interview with Mika Simmons". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  27. ↑ "British Council Film: Balcony". transform.britishcouncil.org.br. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  28. ↑ "London Film Festival - Us Among The Stones". The Reviews Hub. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  29. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (8 December 2020). "Us Among the Stones review – thoughtful Laurence Fox stars in heartfelt indie drama". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  30. ↑ "BBC Blogs - BBC Writersroom - Showtrial". 27 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  31. ↑ "Full cast announced for world premiere of Disruption at Park Theatre". www.theatre-news.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  32. ↑ "Full Cast Announced for Disruption at Park Theatre". www.theatreweekly.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  33. ↑ "Review: Disruption, at Park Theatre". www.camdennewjournal.co.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  34. ↑ "Disruption Reviews". www.westendtheatre.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  35. 1 2 Freeman, Hadley (18 April 2019). "Tara Fitzgerald: 'I didn't think I was very talented. I didn't have that fight'". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  36. ↑ "Hysterical - 2019". Underwire Festival. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  37. ↑ "2019 Report". Portobello Film Festival. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  38. ↑ "Discover new diverse filmmaking talent at Fragments Festival". Pact. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  39. ↑ "Home page". The Happy Vagina. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  40. ↑ Simmons, Mika (1 November 2020). "The lesson I learnt from my mum's death could save lives". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  41. ↑ Simmons, Mika (3 March 2020). "8 lessons I've learned from interviewing influential women about sex". Red Online. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  42. ↑ Anderson, Alana (19 August 2020). "Stars have joined forces to celebrate Gynaecological positivity and self-love". OK! Magazine. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  43. ↑ "Gynaecological Awareness Month: How To Have A Happy Vagina". Grazia. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  44. ↑ Chappet, Marie-Claire (3 August 2022). "Mika Simmons on the importance of Women's Health". Harpers Bazaar. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  45. ↑ "Women's health: Female patients to be asked about 'gender health gap'". BBC News. 6 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  46. ↑ "Board". Ginsburg Women's Health Board. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  47. ↑ "Founders". Lady Garden Foundation. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  48. ↑ Barcelona, El Periódico / (30 September 2017). "Naomi Campbell posa contra el cáncer ginecológico". elperiodico (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  49. ↑ "Mika Simmons". Lady Garden Foundation. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  50. ↑ "We love Topshop's new Lady Garden campaign fronted by Cara Delevingne | Living North". www.livingnorth.com. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  51. ↑ "Sarah Ferguson turns heads in stunning sheer black gown". HELLO!. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  52. ↑ "Princess Beatrice Gets Behind Fight Against Ovarian Cancer". MSNBC News. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2021. NBC News' Keir Simmons sits down with Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter, Beatrice and his sister, Mika Simmons to discuss their effort to educate women about the cancer dubbed "the silent killer".
  53. ↑ "A 'new era' for women with ovarian cancer". The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  54. ↑ Bystander. "6th Annual Lady Garden Foundation lunch at Fortnum and Mason". Tatler. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  55. ↑ "Find Your Shade. Find Your Power". www.lancome.co.uk. Lancôme UK. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  56. ↑ Lee, Helena (February 2021). "THE CAMPAIGNERS - Mika Simmons & Nimco Ali". Harper's Bazaar. pp. 120–121. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  57. ↑ "Waterloo Road". BBC. 11 February 2025.
  58. ↑ "Mika Simmons Directs Joanna Lumley In 'My Week With Maisy'". Forbes. 2 August 2025.
  59. ↑ "Joanna Lumley Stars in Chemotherapy Drama 'My Week With Maisy'". www.variety.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  60. 1 2 "Awards & Winners". Cleveland International Film. 2 September 2024.
  61. 1 2 "HollyShorts Film Festival to Launch London Edition (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 7 August 2024.
  62. ↑ "'Pay what you can' festival returns with 150 films". BBC News. 7 May 2024.
[edit]
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