Lovie Simone Oppong (born November 29, 1998) is an American actress, best known for her role as Zora Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, '' Greenleaf''.

Life and career

Simone was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

and raised in

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orange ...

. Here, she attended

Monroe-Woodbury High School Monroe-Woodbury High School is located in Central Valley, New York, part of the town and village of Woodbury in Orange County. It educates all students in grades 9- 12 in the Monroe-Woodbury Central School District. Notable alumni *David ...

from her freshman year to senior year. Her mother is

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

and her father is

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

. She has a twin sister named Yuri, who's a musician that goes by Reiyo The Giant and a younger brother and sister. She studied at an acting school in New York and later appeared in a national commercial for

JC Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...

. In 2016, Simone began starring in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, '' Greenleaf'' playing the role of Zora Greenleaf, the daughter of Kerissa ( Kim Hawthorne) and Jacob Greenleaf ( Lamman Rucker). Simone was originally cast as a recurring cast member, but was promoted to a series regular as of the second season. Simone later made her film debut in a supporting role opposite

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisi ...

in the 2018 drama film ''

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

'', which premiered at the

2018 Sundance Film Festival The 2018 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 18 to January 28, 2018. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 29, 2017. Awards The following awards were presented: * U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award: ''The ...

. The following year, she appeared in two drama films that premiered at

2019 Sundance Film Festival The 2019 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 24 to February 3, 2019. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 28, 2018. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * '' Before You Know It'' by Hannah Pearl Utt * '' ...

: '' Share'' and played a leading role in '' Selah and the Spades''. Both films has received positive reviews from critics. In 2020, Simone played one of leads in writer-director

Zoe Lister-Jones Zoe Lister-Jones (born September 1, 1982) is an American actress, and filmmaker who co-starred as Jen Collins Short in the CBS sitcom ''Life in Pieces'' from 2015 to 2019. She is also known for her roles in the television shows ''Delocated'' (2 ...

' horror film '' The Craft: Legacy'', a sequel to the 1996 film '' The Craft''. In 2021, Simone starred in the first season of Starz crime drama series, '' Power Book III: Raising Kanan''. In 2022, she was cast opposite

Tobias Menzies Tobias Simpson Menzies (born 7 March 1974) is an English stage, television and film actor. He is known for playing Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in the third and fourth seasons of Netflix's series ''The Crown'', for which he won the Primetim ...

Apple TV+ limited series, '' Manhunt''. She starred in the period drama film '' The Walk'', and set to appear in the science fiction thriller '' 57 Seconds''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simone, Lovie Living people 1998 births American television actresses 21st-century American actresses African-American actresses American film actresses Actresses from New York City American people of Ghanaian descent 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people