Mika Simmons is a British actress and film-maker who is known for playing Queen Anora in the Dragon Age series, the BAFTA winning Falling Apart, the BBC's Showtrial, the award-winning Rain Stops Play, and My Week with Maisy.
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. She interviews experts and survivors about their experiences with women's health on her podcast The Happy Vagina.
Early life Simmons was born in Greenwich, London. Her brother is journalist Keir Simmons. 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.
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. 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. In 2011, Simmons played in the play, You Once Said Yes, which won both the Fringe First and Total Theatre awards.
Simmons has appeared in the ITV drama, Unforgotten. In 2016, she appeared in Film London's short Balcony. The film went on to win a Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. In 2019, she played a part in Us Among the Stones, directed by D.R. (Dictynna) Hood. In 2020, she appeared in the BBC drama Showtrial. In 2023, Simmons played Jill in Disruption at Off West End Park Theatre alongside Nathaniel Curtis.
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. It won the Silver Remi for Best Comedy Short at the Houston Film Festival. The film has been shown at Underwire Festival and Portobello Film Festival and premiered at Fragments Festival, Genesis Cinema, London.
In 2020, Simmons started The Happy Vagina platform "dedicated to opening up the conversation around women's experience and gynaecological health" and her podcast, in which she discusses sex and intimacy with well-known women.
Simmons' first book The Happy Vagina was published on 4 August 2022.
Activism Simmons is co-founder and co-chair of the Ginsburg Women's Health Board, working with government towards closing the gender health gap.
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. The charity has been supported by Topshop, Sarah Ferguson, and Princess Beatrice. 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.
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. In 2021, Simmons was chosen as one of five Harper's Bazaar visionaries for the year.
Filmography Film YearTitleRoleNotes2005 Ripley Under Ground Sandy2010 Going Herbal June Short films2013 Magpie Olivia Ball2014 Through the Hawthorn Sam's Voice2015 Westminster Girls Jess Balcony Kate2019 Rain Stops Play – Short film. Writer, producer & director Us Among the Stones Rose2020 Breach – Short film. Writer & director All My Love Joanna Spector Short films2021 Birthday Boy Kris2024 The People Before Miranda My Week with Maisy – Short film. Director2025 The Secret Santa Project Barbara
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1998 Frenchman's Creek Prudence Television film2000 Happy Birthday Shakespeare Sally Television film Without Motive Rosie Series 1; episode 6: "A Rattled Man"2002 Falling Apart Sally Television film2003 Casualty Gemma Lynch Series 18; episode 6: "Against Protocol"2005 Bad Girls D.I. Kitson Series 7; episode 12013 Dragon Age Inquisition: A World Unveiled Queen Anora Television film2017 Unforgotten Chambers Series 2; episodes: 1 & 42021 Showtrial Amanda Wikinson Series 1; episodes 1–52025 Waterloo Road Lucy Lakes Series 15; episode 2 Professor T. Kate Bryant Series 4; episode 2: "September Gardens" Cooper and Fry Sarah Runshaw Episode 3
Podcast series Year Title Role Notes2020 The Happy Vagina Herself 2021 The Capsule in Conversation Podcast Herself - Guest Series 4; episode 42022 The Divorce Social Series 8; episode 12025 When Alan Met Ray Sylvia
Web series Year Title Role Notes2011 Dragon Age: Redemption Queen Anora Episode 1: "Tallis"
Video games Year Title Role (voice) Notes2009 Dragon Age: Origins Queen Anora / Isabela / Bella / Dilwyn / other additional voices Xbox 3602010 Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening Queen Anora / Sorcha PlayStation 32014 Dragon Age: Inquisition Queen Anora / Charter / Seanna PlayStation 4 / Xbox 3602015 Dragon Age: Inquisition – Trespasser Charter PlayStation 42024 Dragon Age: The Veilguard Queen Anora / Charter PlayStation 5
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryNominated WorkResultRef. 2019 WorldFest Houston Best Comedy Short Film Rain Stops Play Underwire Film Festival, UK Editing Award Milwaukee Short Film Festival Festival Prize That Film Festival Best of Fest Portobello Film and Video Festival Golden Trellick Award 2020 Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, UK Best Short Comedy Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival Jury Prize 2021 Portland Film Festival Best International Director Breach 2022 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Best Short Film 2024 Cleveland International Film Festival Audience Choice Award My Week with Maisy Cleveland International Film Festival Best Women's Short Film Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia Diversity Award Crystal Palace International Film Festival Best Short Film Brighton Rocks International Film Festival Best Short Film - Drama Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia Best Short Film Women Over 50 Film Festival Best Drama - Commended Sunderland Shorts Film Festival Honourable Mention
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