Midori Francis is an American actress, known for her roles in the film Good Boys (2019) and the Netflix series Dash & Lily (2020).
Wiki/Biography
Midori Francis was born on Saturday, April 16, 1994 as Midori A Iwama (27 years old; as of 2021) from Rumson, New Jersey, United States, under the zodiac sign of Aries.
Midori Francis with his father and brothers as a child
She attended Rumson-Fairhaven High School in New Jersey. Since childhood, Midori has been interested in acting. She started acting at the age of six, starring in the musical Annie at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank. Since then, she has starred in many community productions. At the age of ten, she starred in the musical Titanic.‘ After that, she realized that acting was more than just an extracurricular activity. She was a member of the prestigious Rumson-Fairhaven Regional High School Performing Arts Association. As president of the International Theater Association, Midori won the “Best Play Award” in her senior year. She pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Acting at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. After that, she attended Rutgers Conservatory of Music at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, a one-year program that allows students to study abroad at a professional theater of international standing.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 2″
Hair color: dark brown
Eye color: dark brown
Family and Race
In an interview, she revealed that she is of Japanese descent. She said,
One of my grandmothers lived on a farm. My other grandparents spoke Japanese and cooked Japanese food. I was exposed to many different ways of life.”
Midori Francis spent most of her childhood with her grandparents, Midori Iwama and Mo Iwama. In December 2018, she posted a photo of herself and her grandparents, with the caption:
Those who brought me lunch, picked me up from school, fed me fruit, and helped raise me and my brother never asked for a ‘thank you’. Grateful for every year with them!!!”
Midori Francis and her grandparents
Her father’s name is Ken Iwana and her mother’s name is Joanne Iwama. She has two brothers, a younger brother, Marcus Iwama, and a half-brother, Patrick Bekgran.
Midori Francis and her parents
Midori Francis and her brother Marcus Iwama
Midori Francis and her half brother Patrick Bekgran
Profession
theater
Midori Francis began her journey as a theatre artist in 2014 with the comedy play Vanya & Sonja & Masha & Spike. She played the role of Nina, the young niece of the next-door neighbor, who becomes an aspiring actress attracted by Masha’s celebrity status. The play was performed at Syracuse Stage, one of the top professional theatres in New York.
Midori Iwama as Nina (left) and Nance Williamson as Martha in Syracuse Stage’s “Vanya & Sonia” and “Masha & Spike” (2014)
In 2015, she played the lead role of Molly in the play Peter and the Starcatcher, a motivated and intelligent girl who thinks Peter Pan and the boys need a mother and a boss. The play was staged at the Wells Theatre in Norfolk.
Midori Francis (Molly) in Virginia Stage Company’s production of Peter and the Starcatcher (2015)
Her popularity soared when she played “Number 8” in the 2017 Obie Award-winning play “Wolves.” Set on an indoor soccer field, the play revolves around the experiences of nine high school girls during their pre-game soccer warm-ups every Saturday morning.
Midori Francis in the play Wolf (2017)
In 2019, she starred in the play Before We Meet, in which she played the role of Nicole, a depressed, short-tempered, pregnant girl who is in a relationship with an alcoholic.
Midori Francis in the play Before We Meet (2019)
That same year, she received critical acclaim for her role as Kyeoung in the drama Ordinary Girl, which explores the wonder, pain, and complexity of growing up as a woman. In the play, Kyeoung is an Asian American woman who is bullied by boys as a child, rejected by other girls as a teenager, and abused by men as an adult.
Midori Francis in the drama Usual Girls (2019)
Movie
In 2018, she made her screen debut in the American heist comedy film Ocean’s 8, playing the role of April.
Ocean’s 8 (2018)
In 2019, she rose to fame for her role in the American coming-of-age comedy film Good Boys, in which she played the character of Lily. In the film, Lily and her best friend Hannah decide to teach young children about surveillance and respect for women by swiping drones.
Midori Francis, Good Boys (2019)
television
Midori Francis made her television screen debut in 2016 in the American comedy series Younger, where she played the role of Lin in the episode “The Marshmallow Experiment”.
Younger (2016)
Her other TV appearances include Gotham (2017) and Divorce (2018).
OTT/Network Series
She made her digital debut in 2019 as Lanie Bouchard in the horror web series The Birch. The series follows the lives of three teenagers, Lanie, Evie, and Thurston, who summon the bloodthirsty monster known as the Birch, which lurks in the woods. Birch vows to protect the vulnerable wherever she is summoned, and as the story unfolds, he demands a dangerous price for her actions.
Midori Francis, Birches (2019)
In 2020, she played the lead role of Lily in Netflix’s romantic comedy series Dash & Lily. The storyline of the series revolves around Dash, a teenager who hates Christmas, and Lily, a 17-year-old teenager who wants to find love. During the Christmas holidays, Dash and Lily open up to each other by exchanging messages and challenges in notebooks at various locations in New York City, which leads to mutual romantic feelings.
Midori Francis in Daisy & Lily (2020)
others
Midori Francis became a household name in 2014 when she cried in a hit Liberty Mutual Insurance television commercial about losing her car, named “Brad.”
In addition to feature films, Midori has also made several short films such as Killing Machine (2015), The Chemistry of Emotions (2019), and Bless This Chaos (2019).
Awards/Honors
- Won the New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Actress (2016)
- Obie Award (2017) for Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Play for The Wolf Pack (2017)
- Drama Desk Award (2017) for Outstanding Ensemble Performance for the play Wolfpack (2017)
Facts/Trivia
- Midori Iwama is an occasional smoker and enjoys drinking.
Midori Francis drinks beer and smokes a cigarette
- Although Midori did not play sports at school, Wolves (2017) sparked her passion for football. In an interview, she said:
I didn’t pursue sports, but I really like football now: Wolves gave me a chance to activate my athletic talent.”
- She was named after her grandmother, Midori Iwama.
- In June 2018, Midori posted photos of herself attending the 2018 Pride Festival on her Instagram account, showing that she is an active supporter of the LGBTQ community.
Midori Francis’ Instagram post
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education