Josette Simon facts for kids

Josette Patricia Simon is a talented British actor. She was born in 1959 or 1960. Many people know her for playing Dayna Mellanby in the science fiction TV show Blake's 7 from 1980 to 1981.

Josette trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She started acting very young, even singing in the choir for the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat when she was just 14.

She has had a long and successful career on stage. She has been in over 50 plays with the famous Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). She even played the lead role of Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra in 2017. Josette Simon was the first black woman to act in an RSC play. She has helped change how actors are chosen for roles, often playing characters that were traditionally played by white actors. This is called "colour-blind casting."

Josette Simon has won several awards for her acting. These include the Evening Standard Best Actress award for her role in After the Fall. She also won two film festival awards for her part in the movie Milk and Honey. In 2000, she was given an award called the OBE for her amazing work in drama.

Early Life and First Steps in Acting

Josette Patricia Simon was born in Leicester, England. Her parents came to Leicester in the 1950s from Anguilla and Antigua. They both worked at a company called Thorn EMI.

Josette went to Rushey Mead primary school and then Alderman Newton's Girls School. She became interested in acting when she was 14. She successfully tried out for the choir of the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

After that, Josette appeared in pantomimes. She also played Martha in a play called The Miracle Worker in 1976. An actor named Alan Rickman, who was in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, told her to apply to the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She was accepted!

Josette Simon's Acting Journey

Starring in Blake's 7

Josette Simon got the part of Dayna Mellanby in the BBC 1 science fiction TV show Blake's 7. She was still studying at drama school when she was chosen. She played Dayna in the third and fourth seasons of the show, which aired from 1980 to 1981.

Her character, Dayna, was a skilled fighter and knew a lot about weapons. One author, Andrew Muir, said that Josette brought "energy, vitality, innocence, danger, and a real physical presence" to the role.

Josette was asked to play Dayna again in audio stories, but she chose to take on other roles instead. In 1980, she also appeared in the sitcom The Cuckoo Waltz and the teen drama The Squad.

Working with the Royal Shakespeare Company

Josette Simon has performed many times with the famous Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and the Royal National Theatre. In 1982, she was cast as one of the "weird sisters" in Shakespeare's play Macbeth. She was the first black woman to appear in a Shakespeare play for the RSC.

In the same year, she also had roles in Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest, and Antony and Cleopatra. Josette said that working with actors like Michael Gambon and Helen Mirren on Antony and Cleopatra really influenced her early career.

She spent four years working with the RSC. During this time, she played Nerissa in The Merchant Of Venice and Dorcas Ableman in Golden Girls. This role was a big breakthrough for her. Critics praised her powerful and beautiful performance. The play's author even changed the story to focus on Josette's character because of her amazing energy.

Breaking Barriers in Casting

Josette Simon has been a leader in "colour-blind casting." This means choosing actors for roles without considering their race, especially for parts that were traditionally played by white actors. From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, it was rare for black women to have lead roles in Shakespeare plays. But Josette played several major parts for the RSC.

Her first main role, and the first for a black woman at the RSC, was Rosaline in Love's Labour's Lost in 1984. Her costume showed she was a high-status character. One author, Jami Rogers, said that for the first time on a major British stage, an African-Caribbean woman played a smart, funny, and strong Shakespearean character. Reviews of her performance were excellent.

Josette said that she focused on her performance and didn't let discussions about her casting bother her. She believed that actors should take risks to grow. She also mentioned that sexism was as much of a problem as racism in her career, especially when there weren't many good roles for women.

In 1987, Josette played the lead role of Isabelle in Measure for Measure for the RSC. Her performance received praise from some critics. One critic said she was a "burnished icon of impassioned purity." Another noted that she had transformed her voice, making her performance dignified and touching.

Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe at their wedding in 1956. Josette Simon won several awards for her performance in Miller's After the Fall, playing a character thought to be based on Monroe.

The RSC's casting director, Hannah Miller, explained that the company tries to choose the best actor for a role, no matter their gender, race, or background. Josette Simon's success shows how important it is for black women actors to have these opportunities. Josette herself said in 2017, "I hate the term 'black actor'... You're an actor, full stop."

Josette also played Maggie in Arthur Miller's play After the Fall at the National Theatre in 1990. This character was thought to be based on Marilyn Monroe, who was married to Miller. Josette won several awards for this role, including the Evening Standard Best Actress award. Meeting Arthur Miller during rehearsals was a very important moment for her.

In 1999, Josette returned to the RSC as Queen Elizabeth in Don Carlos. She then played Titania and Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream. A reviewer from the Financial Times said that Josette spoke Titania's lines with a "jazz musicality" and had a powerful stage presence.

In 2017, Josette Simon took on the role of Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra for the RSC. A critic from The Guardian said that Josette seemed "born to play Cleopatra" and created a "hypnotically mercurial figure."

Sandra Richards, an author, wrote in 1993 that Josette Simon's "special brand of integrity has gained her a number of 'strong women' roles." She said that Josette was setting a new standard for British actresses from ethnic minorities.

Other Exciting Roles

Josette Simon has also performed in many other plays, films, and TV shows. In 1985, she was the lead in a BBC Radio 3 play called Mirandolina. She also starred in Dictator Gal in 1992, where she played the wife of a dying dictator. Her performance earned her a nomination for a Prix Futura Award.

Her film roles include Dr. Ramphele in Cry Freedom (1987). She was nominated for Best Actress at the Genie Awards for Milk and Honey (1988). In this film, she played Joanna, a woman who moved from Jamaica to Canada to work as a nanny. Critics praised Josette's "riveting performance" and her "quality of grace."

In 1992, Josette starred in the TV play Bitter Harvest. She played a woman who goes missing while working as an aid worker in the Dominican Republic.

In 1993, Josette Simon starred with Brenda Fricker in the two-part TV series Seekers. In the show, their characters discover they were both married to the same man, who has disappeared. They then team up to work as detectives. Critics called it a "first class detective drama" with wonderful performances.

Josette had a repeating role as a defense lawyer in Anatomy of a Scandal in 2022. She also played a supporting role in Crossfire (2022). She has often played senior police officers in shows like Silent Witness (1998), Minder (2009), and Broadchurch (2017). In 2019, she appeared as Grams in the movie Detective Pikachu.

Personal Life

Josette Simon was married to the singer Mark Padmore. They have one daughter together, born around 2000 or 2001. Even though they are divorced, Josette still calls Mark a "life-long friend."

Josette volunteers with her dog, Milo, visiting patients through a charity called Pets As Therapy. She also supports groups that help deaf people, including the Kaos Signing Choir for Deaf and Hearing Children. For fun, she plays the saxophone and practices Ashtanga yoga.

Awards and Recognition

In 1995, Josette Simon received an honorary Master of Arts degree from the University of Leicester. In 2000, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her great contributions to drama. In 1998, she also received a Pioneers and Achievers award. This award recognized people from Leicester who helped pave the way for future generations of African Caribbean people to succeed in many different jobs and areas.