Lovie Simone Oppong, born November 29, 1998, in New York City, is an American actress of African American and Ghanaian descent, raised in the Bronx before settling in Orange County, California, with her parents, twin sister, and younger siblings.[1][2][5] She began her career in 2009 after being discovered at an acting school, booking her first national commercial for JCPenney, followed by guest roles in series like *Orange Is the New Black* and *Blue Bloods*.[2][4] Simone rose to prominence with her breakout role as Zora Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama *Greenleaf* (2016–2020), initially recurring but promoted to series regular for 60 episodes, portraying the daughter of characters played by Kim Hawthorne and Lamman Rucker.[1][4] Notable film roles include Renee Pickford in *Monster* (2018), Selah Summers in *Selah and the Spades* (2019), Tabby in *The Craft: Legacy* (2020)—a Blumhouse/Sony reboot—and Wendy Robbins in *The Walk* (2022).[1][4] On television, she appeared as Davina Harrison in *Power Book III: Raising Kanan* (2021) and in the Apple TV+ series *Manhunt* (2022) opposite Tobias Menzies.[1][6] Key achievements include critical acclaim for her layered performance in *Selah and the Spades* and being named one of Variety's "One to Watch" in 2016.[4] In 2023, she starred as Jala in the sci-fi thriller *57 Seconds*.[1][4] Her most recent lead role is Keisha Clark in the 2025 Netflix teen drama *Forever*, an adaptation of Judy Blume's novel reimagined through a Black teenage lens, earning rave reviews for its authentic portrayal of first love, grief, and identity; Simone has over 410,000 Instagram followers.[1][2][3][5] Now based in Atlanta and repped by Buchwald, she continues to build a versatile career blending drama, horror, and coming-of-age stories.[4][5]