Mika Simmons | |
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Born | |
Education | University of Leeds |
Alma mater | Drama Studio London |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1998 - present |
Relatives | Keir Simmons (brother) |
Website | MikaSimmons.com |
Mika Simmons is a British actress and film-maker who is known for playing Queen Anora in Dragon Age series, [1] [2] the BAFTA winning Falling Apart, [3] [4] [5] and BBC Showtrial, [6] and 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]
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]
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]
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, Duchess of York, [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]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Without Motive | Rosie | Episode: A Rattled Man |
2003 | Casualty | Gemma Lynch | Episode: Against Protocol |
2005 | Bad Girls | DI Kitson | S7. Episode: 1 |
2017 | Unforgotten | Chambers | S2. Episode: 1 & 2 |
2021 | Showtrial | Amanda Wikinson | S1. Episode: 1 |
2025 | Waterloo Road | Lucy Lakes | S15. Episode 2 [57] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Frenchman's Creek | Prudence | |
2000 | Happy Birthday Shakespeare | Sally | |
2002 | Falling Apart | Sally | |
2005 | Ripley Under Ground | Sandy | |
2010 | Going Herbal | June | |
2013 | Dragon Age Inquisition: A World Unveiled | Queen Anora | |
Magpie | Olivia Ball | Short | |
2014 | Through the Hawthorn | Sam | Voice |
2015 | Westminster Girls | Jess | Short |
Balcony | Kate | ||
2019 | Us Among the Stones | Rose | |
2020 | All My Love | Joanna Spector | |
2021 | Birthday Boy | Kris | |
2024 | The People Before | Miranda |
Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | The Happy Vagina | Herself | [10] |
2025 | When Alan Met Ray | Sylvia |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Dragon Age: Redemption | Queen Anora | Episode: Tallis |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | Dragon Age: Origins | Queen Anora / Isabela / Bella / Dilwyn / Ostagar Nurse / The Warden / Violent Human Female / Pearl Human Female Companion / Hooded Courier / Eamon Estate Maid | 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 |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Rain Stops Play | Herself | Writer |
2020 | Breach | Herself | Writer |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Rain Stops Play | Herself | Director |
2020 | Breach | Herself | Director |
2024 | My Week With Maisy | Herself | Director |
Year | Award | Category | Nominated Work | Result | Ref. |
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2019 | WorldFest Houston | Best Comedy Short Film | Rain Stops Play | Won | [35] [13] [11] |
2019 | Underwire Film Festival, UK | Editing Award | Rain Stops Play | Nominated | |
2019 | Milwaukee Short Film Festival | Festival Prize | Rain Stops Play | Nominated | |
2019 | That Film Festival | Best of Fest | Rain Stops Play | Nominated | |
2019 | Portobello Film and Video Festival | Golden Trellick Award | Rain Stops Play | Nominated | |
2020 | Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, UK | Best Short Comedy | Rain Stops Play | Nominated | |
2020 | Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival | Jury Prize | Rain Stops Play | Nominated | |
2021 | Portland Film Festival | Best International Director | Breach | Won | [58] |
2024 | Cleveland International Film Festival | Audience Choice Award | My Week With Maisy | Won | [59] |
2024 | Cleveland International Film Festival | Best Women's Short Film | My Week With Maisy | Won | [59] |
2024 | Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia | Diversity Award | My Week With Maisy | Nominated | [60] |
2024 | Crystal Palace International Film Festival | Best Short Film | My Week With Maisy | Nominated | |
2024 | Brighton Rocks International Film Festival | Best Short Film - Drama | My Week With Maisy | Nominated | |
2024 | Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia | Best Short Film | My Week With Maisy | Won | [60] |
2024 | Women Over 50 Film Festival | Best Drama - Commended | My Week With Maisy | Nominated | |
2024 | Sunderland Shorts Film Festival | Honourable Mention | My Week With Maisy | Won | [61] |
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".