Career

After leaving Central School of Speech and Drama she was chosen to play the part of Dayna Mellanby in the third and fourth seasons of the television sci-fi series Blake's 7. Her recent television work includes roles in Lewis, Casualty, Skins, Midsomer Murders, The Last Detective, Death in Paradise and the Poirot episode "The Mystery of the Blue Train".

Simon's film appearances include Cry Freedom and Milk and Honey, for which she was nominated for a Best Actress award. In 1992 she starred alongside Brenda Fricker in the TV film Seekers, produced by Sarah Lawson.

Simon is also a notable stage actress who has performed frequently with the Royal National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, being cast as one of the three 'weird sisters' in Macbeth alongside Kathy Behean, Lesley Sharp and Bob Peck who played the lead.

As a black actress, she has been at the forefront of 'colour-blind casting', frequently taking roles traditionally considered white.

One example is Maggie in Arthur Miller's After the Fall, which has been said to have been based on Marilyn Monroe, former wife of Miller, a performance which won Simon the Evening Standard's Best Actress award in 1990, as well as several Best Actress nominations.

She was also nominated for a Best Actress award for her performance in Golden Girls at the RSC.

In 2009 she appeared in the inaugural episode of the resurrected TV series Minder.

Awards and honours

Simon was awarded the OBE for services to drama in 2000, and also received an honorary Master of Arts degree from the University of Leicester in 1995.

Personal life

Josette married Mark Padmore in 1996, but the couple divorced in 2004. They have one child.

Filmography (Incomplete)

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Cry Freedom	Dr. Ramphele
1988	Milk and Honey	Joanna Bell
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	Blake's 7	Dayna Mellanby	13 Episodes
1981	Blake's 7	Dayna Mellanby	13 Episodes
1984	Play for Today	Linda King	"King"
1988	Thompson	Various Roles	2 Episodes
1989	Capital City	Beatrice	"Take Over"
1997	Kavanagh QC	Dr. Hilary Jameson	"Blood Money"
1998	Dalziel and Pascoe	Eileen Anstiss	"Bones and Silence"
2003	The Last Detective	Jemma Duvall	"Lofty"
2006	Casualty	Sarah Keith	"The Sunny Side of the Street, Part 1 & 2"
2007	Lewis	Stephanie Fielding	"Expiation"
2009	Casualty	Frances Liveley	6 Episodes
2010	Casualty	Frances Liveley	"Loves Me, Loves Me Not"
2011	Silent Witness	Mrs Ferris	2 Episodes - "First Casualty: Part 1 & 2"
2012	New Tricks	Vera	1 Episode - "Queen and Country"
2012	Merlin	The Euchdag	2 Episodes - "Arthur's Bane: Parts One & Two"
2014	Death in Paradise	Judge Anne Stone	1 Episode - "An Artistic Murder"
2014	Suspects	Dr. Melanie Standish	1 Episode

[ Source: Wikipedia ]