Life lessons with Mika Simmons

Mika Simmons is one of those people best described as a polymath. The writer, director, activist, actor and podcast host exhibits so many talents, you start to wonder how she fits it all in. Spoiler alert – she’s just really good at multitasking. And not procrastinating. 

Alongside her work as an actor and director, Simmons has been advocating for awareness in the women’s health space, specifically around gynaecological cancers, for more than two decades, ever since her mother died of stage four ovarian cancer in 2000 at the age of 54. 

Simmons co-founded the Lady Garden Foundation in 2014, before launching the hugely successful The Happy Vagina podcast – now in its sixth season – as a way to combat the stigma that still surrounds honest conversations around women’s health, relationships and pleasure, with each episode stuffed full of frank conversation, funny anecdotes plus a healthy dose of relatable home truths when it comes to sex and relationships.

Softly spoken but authoritative, she has the uncanny ability to say no and actually be heard, while also not accepting no for an answer on the quest to get. Stuff. Done. This is a woman to listen to and learn from…

‘The [women’s health space] is a completely different landscape now. It's utterly transformed. And I feel really proud that we played a part in that. The work that we did, particularly early doors with the first Lady Garden campaign we launched on social media, triggered people to be like, “What is that? What is the Lady Garden Foundation?”

‘There is absolutely no way we could’ve used the correct anatomical names when we launched the campaign and gained the same traction. The tongue in cheek name was fundamental to its success at the time. Today we are living in a much more open-minded time regarding intimacy and health. The thing now is to maintain this. Education is absolutely key to abolishing shame and creating deeper and more fulfilling relationships with our bodies.’

‘I think the most significant reasons people don’t go to the doctor are fear and shame. Our body’s our responsibility. But people often ignore it and ignore it. We don’t see our relationship with doctors as healthcare. We see it as sorting out problems. So we go to the doctor only when there’s a problem, unlike women in America who have gynaecologists and have yearly tests. Yes, we have the wonderful NHS service but we don’t take care of our bodies in the same way. 

‘The more we talk openly about women’s bodies, about health, about sex, and get rid of all the taboo… the more we do that, the more people will go and get checked by their doctor. My activism is around people talking, getting rid of shame.’

‘Making [short film] My Week With Maisie has been a really interesting process, because it’s my third film and I’ve worked with the same editor on all three. He’s a magician, and brilliant. And I’ve learnt a huge amount through him about directing and editing and how to bring a film together. But about two months ago, I had to say to him, “We’re making the wrong film.”

‘We’d fallen into making exceptional content but everything felt like it was just being presented to you on a tray. I wanted people to go away from it and think about what they have seen. I didn’t want a fast TV-like edit because it’s an extraordinary story about a much older lady and a much younger woman meeting in a cancer treatment centre. I wanted it to breathe.

‘So it was quite scary for me to go back to my editor and say this. I spent a weekend going through the entire rushes to find things I thought would work in order to prove myself. Now I’m really happy with it.’

My Week With Maisy starring Joanna Lumley and Ellie-Mae Siame, supported by the Create Health Foundation, premiers at Oscar accredited Flickerfest in 2024

Season six of The Happy Vagina podcast is out now, with guests including Paloma Faith, ER Fightmaster and Adina Porter