Simone Missick (born Simone Cook on January 19, 1982, in Detroit, Michigan) is an American actress and producer best known for her commanding performances in television drama and genre series. A graduate of Howard University with a degree in English and a minor in theatre arts, Missick began building her career through theater and small television roles before gaining wider recognition in the mid-2010s. Early television appearances included guest roles on series such as Ray Donovan, Scandal, and Wayward Pines. Her breakout role came when she joined the Marvel television universe as detective Mercedes “Misty” Knight in Luke Cage (2016–2018), a performance she reprised in The Defenders and Iron Fist, establishing her as a fan-favorite character within the Marvel franchise.

Missick’s career reached a new level of prominence when she was cast as Judge Lola Carmichael, the principled and determined lead of the courtroom drama All Rise (2019–2023), a role that showcased her dramatic range and positioned her as one of television’s leading Black actresses. For her work on the series, she earned multiple nominations including NAACP Image Award nominations for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 2020 and 2021, along with several Black Reel Awards nominations. During this period she also appeared in Netflix’s science-fiction series Altered Carbon as the bounty hunter Trepp and starred in the independent film Jinn (2018), which premiered at SXSW and earned her a Black Reel Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress.

Beyond television, Missick has maintained a presence in independent film and theater. Her stage work includes Dominique Morisseau’s Paradise Blue, which earned her a Theatre World Award in 2019, and The Road Weeps, the Well Runs Dry, which garnered an NAACP Theatre Award nomination earlier in her career. In recent years, she has continued expanding her screen credits with appearances in projects such as Government Cheese on Apple TV+ opposite David Oyelowo and film projects including Eric Jerome Dickey’s Friends and Lovers Part I and Eric Jerome Dickey’s Friends and Lovers Part II (2025). Her performance in Government Cheese earned a 2025 Black Reel Awards nomination for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Comedy Series.

With a career spanning television, film, and stage, Simone Missick has built a reputation for portraying strong, intelligent characters while balancing mainstream franchise work with independent storytelling. As of 2025–2026, she continues to expand her presence as both an actress and producer, solidifying her status as a versatile performer in contemporary television and film.