Mika Simmons Explained

Mika Simmons
Birth Place:Greenwich, London, UK
Education:University of Leeds
Alma Mater:Drama Studio London
Occupation:Actress and filmmaker
Organization:RSP Productions
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Relatives:Keir Simmons
Website:MikaSimmons.com

Mika Simmons is a British actress and film-maker who is known for playing Queen Anora on Dragon Age,[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]

Early life

Simmons was born in Greenwich, London. Her brother is journalist Keir Simmons.[11] 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. Following graduation, Simmons moved to London to train as an actress at the Drama Studio London.[12]

Career

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.[13] [14] 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.[15] [16] [17] [18] In 2011, Simmons played in the play, You Once Said Yes, which won both the Fringe First and Total Theatre awards.[19] [20]

Simmons has appeared in the ITV drama, Unforgotten.[21] [22] In 2016, she appeared in Film London's short Balcony.[23] [24] The film went on to win a Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.[25] In 2019 she played a part in Us Among the Stones, directed by D.R. (Dictynna) Hood.[26] [27] In 2020, she appeared in the BBC drama Showtrial.[28] In 2023, Simmons played Jill in Disruption at Off West End Park Theatre alongside Nathaniel Curtis.[29] [30] [31] [32]

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.[33] It won the Silver Remi for Best Comedy Short at the Houston Film Festival.[34] [35] 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] 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

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]

Awards

Simmons' directorial debut, 'Rain Stops Play', won the Silver Remi for best comedy at Houston World Film Festival.

In 2021 Simmons won Best international Director at Portland Film Festival.[57]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 10. Queen Anora (Dragon Age) a review of Queen Anora Theirin. 2023-12-18. www.listal.com. en.
  2. Web site: Dragon Age: Origins – Non-Playable Characters - Fereldan Nobles / Characters - TV Tropes. 2023-12-18. www.tvtropes.org. en.
  3. Web site: Falling Apart - Where to Watch and Stream Online – Entertainment.ie. www.entertainment.ie. en.
  4. Web site: Falling Apart ‹ Century Films. www.centuryfilmsltd.com. en.
  5. Web site: Television Craft - New Director - Fiction in 2003. www.bafta.org. en.
  6. Web site: 2022 Television Supporting Actress. www.bafta.org. en.
  7. Immy Waterhouse - Rain Stops Play short film by Mika Simmons. Tatler. 7 February 2019. 18 December 2023.
  8. Web site: Joanna Lumley Stars in Chemotherapy Drama 'My Week With Maisy'. 2023-12-18. www.variety.com. en.
  9. Web site: Mika Simmons. 2021-03-08. www.huffingtonpost.co.uk. en.
  10. The Best Podcasts For Love, Dating, Sex And Relationships. Grazia. 14 February 2021. 28 February 2021.
  11. News: Princess Beatrice Gets Behind Fight Against Ovarian Cancer . 3 March 2021 . NBC News . 13 May 2017 . en.
  12. Web site: Rain Stops Play . 28 February 2021 . FilmFreeway . en.
  13. Web site: Mika Simmons . https://web.archive.org/web/20201129102607/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bc2028acd . dead . 29 November 2020 . BFI . 28 February 2021 . en.
  14. Web site: Entertainment Dramatic look for ITV's Christmas offering. BBC. 24 November 1998.
  15. Web site: Mika Simmons. https://web.archive.org/web/20201129102607/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bc2028acd. dead. 29 November 2020. British Film Institute. 28 February 2021.
  16. News: Period dramas win Baftas. BBC News. 12 May 2003. 28 February 2021.
  17. Web site: BAFTA Awards - Television Craft: New Director - Fiction in 2003. 11 March 2021.
  18. Web site: BAFTA Awards - Television Craft: New Writer in 2003. 11 March 2021.
  19. Web site: Girivan. Andrew. Nominees Announced for 2011 Total Theatre Awards. Whats on Stage. 19 August 2011.
  20. Web site: You Once Said Yes. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20171102070915/https://iran.britishcouncil.org/en/underline/theatre/you-once-said-yes. 2 November 2017. 1 March 2021. British Council.
  21. News: Man was stabbed to death in Kensington "after refusing to give money to youths". Joe. 1 June 2018. 28 February 2021.
  22. Magistretti. Bérénice. "Lights, Camera, Orgasm": An Interview with Mika Simmons. 28 February 2021. Vanity Fair. en-us.
  23. Web site: British Council Film: Balcony . transform.britishcouncil.org.br . 2 March 2021.
  24. 5 January 2021 . Mika Simmons: "Lights, Camera, Orgasm" . 28 February 2021 . Vanity Fair.
  25. Web site: Prizes & Honours 2016: Youth Jury . www.berlinale.de . 2 March 2021 . en.
    Web site: Balcony . International Filmfestspiele Berlin . 2 March 2021.
  26. Web site: London Film Festival - Us Among The Stones . The Reviews Hub . 2 March 2021 . 13 October 2019.
  27. News: Bradshaw . Peter . Us Among the Stones review – thoughtful Laurence Fox stars in heartfelt indie drama . 2 March 2021 . The Guardian . 8 December 2020 . en.
  28. Web site: BBC Blogs - BBC Writersroom - Showtrial. 27 October 2021. 2 October 2022.
  29. Web site: Full cast announced for world premiere of Disruption at Park Theatre. www.theatre-news.com. en. 2023-12-18.
  30. Web site: Full Cast Announced for Disruption at Park Theatre. www.theatreweekly.com. en. 2023-12-18.
  31. Web site: Review: Disruption, at Park Theatre. www.camdennewjournal.co.uk. en. 2023-12-18.
  32. Web site: Disruption Reviews. www.westendtheatre.com. en. 2023-12-18.
  33. News: Tara Fitzgerald: 'I didn't think I was very talented. I didn't have that fight'. Hadley. Freeman. The Guardian. 18 April 2019. 28 February 2021.
  34. Web site: Remi winners . FilmFestivals.com . 28 February 2021.
  35. Web site: Rain Stops Play . FilmFreeway . 28 February 2021 . en.
  36. Web site: Hysterical - 2019. Underwire Festival. 2 March 2021.
  37. Web site: 2019 Report. Portobello Film Festival. 2 March 2021.
  38. Discover new diverse filmmaking talent at Fragments Festival. Pact. 14 May 2019. 2 March 2021.
  39. Web site: Home page . The Happy Vagina . 28 February 2021 . en.
  40. News: Simmons . Mika . The lesson I learnt from my mum's death could save lives . 28 February 2021 . The Telegraph . 1 November 2020.
  41. News: Simmons . Mika . 8 lessons I've learned from interviewing influential women about sex . 28 February 2021 . Red Online . 3 March 2020.
  42. News: Anderson . Alana . Stars have joined forces to celebrate Gynaecological positivity and self-love . 28 February 2021 . OK! Magazine . 19 August 2020 . en.
  43. Web site: Gynaecological Awareness Month: How To Have A Happy Vagina. 28 February 2021. Grazia.
  44. Mika Simmons on the importance of Women's Health. Marie-Claire. Chappet. Harpers Bazaar. 3 August 2022. 2 October 2022.
  45. News: Women's health: Female patients to be asked about 'gender health gap'. 11 March 2021. BBC News. 6 March 2021.
  46. Web site: Board. Ginsburg Women's Health Board. 11 March 2021.
  47. Web site: Founders . Lady Garden Foundation . 28 February 2021.
  48. Web site: Barcelona. El Periódico /. 30 September 2017. Naomi Campbell posa contra el cáncer ginecológico. 28 February 2021. elperiodico. es.
  49. Web site: Mika Simmons. 2021-03-01. Lady Garden Foundation. en-GB.
  50. Web site: We love Topshop's new Lady Garden campaign fronted by Cara Delevingne Living North. 2021-03-01. www.livingnorth.com.
  51. Web site: 2019-10-17. Sarah Ferguson turns heads in stunning sheer black gown. 2021-03-01. HELLO!. en.
  52. News: Princess Beatrice Gets Behind Fight Against Ovarian Cancer . 5 March 2021 . MSNBC News . May 13, 2017 . 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. Web site: A 'new era' for women with ovarian cancer. 2021-03-01. The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. en.
  54. Web site: Bystander. 6th Annual Lady Garden Foundation lunch at Fortnum and Mason. 2021-03-01. Tatler. en-GB.
  55. Web site: Find Your Shade. Find Your Power.. 28 February 2021. www.lancome.co.uk. Lancôme UK.
  56. News: Lee. Helena. February 2021. THE CAMPAIGNERS - Mika Simmons & Nimco Ali. 120–121. Harper's Bazaar. 1 March 2021.
  57. Web site: Joanna Lumley Stars in Chemotherapy Drama 'My Week With Maisy'. 2023-12-18. www.variety.com. en.

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