Kaos Signing Choir for Deaf and Hearing Children. She is a patron of Action Deafness, the Life and Deaf Association, the Deaf Ethnic Women's Association, and Safety Curtain. Simon married tenor Mark Padmore; the couple had one daughter together but are now divorced. Honours and awards In 1995, Simon was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree by the University of Leicester. In the 2000 Birthday Honours she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for services to drama. She received a Pioneers and Achievers award in 1998, in recognition of being one of the people from Leicester who had "paved the way for the next generations of African Caribbean people to achieve and excel in a diverse range of professions and spheres of influence". Filmography Television and streaming Channels and dates are for the United Kingdom unless otherwise indicated. Theatre Radio Film Notes References External links RSC Performance Database: Josette Simon Interview in the Leicester Mercury British stage actresses British television actresses Black British actresses Officers of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Living people English people of Antigua and Barbuda descent People from Leicester Actresses from Leicestershire People associated with the University of Leicester 1960 births