Lili Marie Simmons (born July 23, 1993) is an American actress and model known for her role as Rebecca Bowman in the

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent ...

series ''

Banshee A banshee ( ; Modern Irish , from sga, ben síde , "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name i ...

'' (2013–2016).

Early life

Simmons was born and raised in Cardiff-by-the-Sea in

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

. At age 15, Simmons was discovered by talent manager Kate Linden.

Career

Simmons began her career as a

Ford Model Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford. Company Ford Models was started in 1946 by Eileen ...

, also modelling for

Bebe Stores Bebe Stores, Inc. (stylized in all lowercase) is a women's retail brand that was established in 1976. The brand develops and produces a line of women's apparel, accessories, and perfume fragrances, which it markets under the "bebe" or "Bebe Spor ...

, Roxy,

J.C. 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 ...

and Saturn. She moved into acting in 2010 on the web series ''Hollywood Is Like High School with Money'', based on the book of the same name, playing Quinn Whitaker. She also appeared in an episode of the

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven yea ...

sitcom ''

Zeke and Luther Zeke is a masculine given name and nickname, sometimes a shortened form (hypocorism) of Ezekiel, which may refer to: People * Caleb Bailey (nickname "Zeke", 1898-1957), US Marine Corps brigadier general and athlete *Zeke Bella (1930–2013), Amer ...

'' and then in the 2011

Disney Channel Original Movie Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner na ...

Geek Charming ''Geek Charming'' is a 2011 Disney Channel Original Movie directed by Jeffrey Hornaday from a screenplay by Elizabeth Hackett and Hilary Galanoy, based on the novel of the same name by Robin Palmer. The film stars Sarah Hyland and Matt Prokop. It ...

''. Also that year, she had a small role in an episode of the sitcom '' Mr. Sunshine''. In 2012, Simmons starred in the film '' Fat Kid Rules the World'', and guest starred in an episode of ''

Jane by Design ''Jane by Design'' is an American comedy-drama television series on ABC Family. The series follows the life of Jane Quimby ( Erica Dasher), a teenager who is mistaken for an adult, as she finally gets her fashion dream job working with a world-fa ...

''. In 2013, she appeared in an episode of '' Vegas'' and began playing Rebecca Bowman, a rebellious

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...

girl on the

series ''

''. She originally auditioned for the role of Deva Hopewell, but: "They said, 'She's too old or too sexy' or whatever". While in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

for her grandmother's funeral, the producers asked her to go back to New York to read for Rebecca, after which she won the role. In March that year, she appeared in a pictorial in ''Maxim'' magazine. In 2014, Simmons began recurring roles on '' Hawaii Five-0'', and the series ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the ...

''. In April 2016, she was cast in what had been stated would be a recurring role in another series, ''

Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populate ...

'', though she appeared in only one episode during the first season. In February 2017, Simmons was cast in a season-long arc on the fifth season of the Showtime drama series '' Ray Donovan'', playing Natalie James, "the star of a big movie franchise". In April 2019, it was confirmed by actress

Camren Bicondova Camren Renee Bicondova (born May 22, 1999) is an American actress and dancer. She is best known for her role as Selina Kyle / Catwoman on the Fox television crime-drama '' Gotham'' (2014–2019). Life and career Bicondova was born in San Di ...

that Simmons was cast to replace her in the role of the adult Selina Kyle / Catwoman for the series finale of '' Gotham'', at her request to "give the torch to someone else for her adult self", which was respected by the

Fox Broadcasting Company The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

, and the series' producers. Bicondova and Simmons met beforehand and collaborated on the characterization. Showrunner John Stevens described casting Simmons as "a stroke of incredible good fortune", as well as praising her as "an incredible actress and looks like she could be Cam's sister."

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Lili 1993 births Living people American film actresses American television actresses People from La Jolla, San Diego Actresses from San Diego 21st-century American actresses