Midori Francis

Midori Francis (born Midori Anne Iwama on April 16, 1994) is an American actress whose career began on the New York stage before expanding into television and film. Raised in Rumson, New Jersey, she is the daughter of Joanne and Ken Iwama, the chancellor of Indiana University Northwest, and carries a diverse heritage of Japanese, Irish, and Italian ancestry, which she proudly embraces as a Hapa identity. After graduating with a BFA in acting from Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts in 2014—where she also studied abroad at Shakespeare’s Globe—Francis quickly made a name for herself in regional theatre, earning a Best Actress award at the 2016 New York Innovative Theatre Awards and ensemble honors for her work in the acclaimed off‑Broadway production The Wolves. Her transition to screen came with a supporting role in Ocean’s 8 (2018), followed by notable parts in South Mountain and Good Boys. In 2020 she captured audiences as Lily in Netflix’s holiday romance Dash & Lily, a performance that earned her a Daytime Emmy nomination and highlighted her personal experiences in the script. Subsequent projects include the Netflix comedy Afterlife of the Party (2021) and a main‑cast role on HBO Max’s The Sex Lives of College Girls. In 2022 Francis joined the long‑running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Mika Yasuda, a role she inhabited through 2024 before announcing her departure. Beyond acting, she is an outspoken advocate for Asian representation in Hollywood and openly identifies as queer, using her platform to discuss the challenges faced by Asian‑American performers. Upcoming work features the 2024 film Saccharine, directed by Natalie Erika James, further cementing her reputation as a versatile and socially engaged talent.