Nancy Simon is an American writer and former theatre director, best known as the daughter of celebrated playwright Neil Simon and the first wife of actor Woody Harrelson. She and Harrelson married in 1985 and divorced in 1986, following a spontaneous wedding in Tijuana, Mexico.
Born in 1962 to Neil Simon and his first wife, Joan Baim, Nancy also built a creative career of her own. Her professional credits include work on Broadway’s Little Me, directing productions of her father’s play Biloxi Blues, and writing fiction. She later married artist David Florimbi in 1992.
Key takeaways
- Family background: Nancy Simon was born in 1962 to playwright Neil Simon and Joan Baim, according to the Library of Congress.
- Marriage to Woody Harrelson: The couple married in 1985 and divorced in 1986, as recorded by the Internet Broadway Database.
- Theatre career: Nancy worked on the 1982 Broadway revival of Little Me and directed regional productions of Biloxi Blues in 1986 and 1987.
- Writing and filmmaking: A 2005 Los Angeles Times feature documented her short fiction and work on a film titled Two for Tijuana.
- Later family life: Nancy married painter David Florimbi in 1992. The Los Angeles Times identified their daughter, Sophia, in its 2005 profile.
Nancy Simon profile summary
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Nancy Simon |
| Born | 1962 |
| Father | Neil Simon, playwright |
| Mother | Joan Baim |
| Sister | Ellen Simon |
| Profession | Writer and former theatre director |
| Broadway credit | Assistant to the director, Little Me (1982) |
| Theatre directing | Biloxi Blues (1986 and 1987) |
| Film credit | Production assistant, Chapter Two (1979), according to film databases |
| Former husband | Woody Harrelson (1985–1986) |
| Later marriage | David Florimbi, married in 1992 according to the Los Angeles Times |
| Child | Sophia Florimbi, identified in 2005 reporting |
| Literary work | Drinks at the Oak Room, published under the byline N. E. Simon in 1998 |
Early life and family background
Nancy Simon was born in 1962, the younger daughter of Neil Simon and Joan Baim. Her older sister, Ellen Simon, was born in 1957.
The Library of Congress’s Neil Simon Papers establishes the family’s early chronology. Neil and Joan married in 1953, and Joan died in 1973, when Nancy was still a child.
Neil Simon had already established himself as a major American playwright during his daughters’ childhood. His best-known works include The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park, Plaza Suite, and the autobiographically inspired plays Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues.
The family’s connection to theatre eventually became part of Nancy’s professional life. She worked on productions connected to her father’s writing, although her documented credits show distinct responsibilities in production assistance and directing.
Her sister Ellen also pursued writing. In a 1995 San Francisco Chronicle interview, Ellen discussed her own work as a playwright and recalled an episode involving Nancy’s marriage to Woody Harrelson.
According to a 2005 Los Angeles Times profile, Nancy studied theatre at Williams College. Her subsequent professional record includes work in film production, Broadway theatre, and regional directing.
Nancy Simon’s marriage to Woody Harrelson
Nancy Simon was Woody Harrelson’s first wife. Their marriage began in 1985 and ended in divorce the following year.
The relationship has attracted attention partly because of the unusual circumstances surrounding their wedding.
According to Biography.com’s profile of Harrelson, the couple married in Tijuana, Mexico. Accounts of the occasion describe it as an impulsive decision rather than a wedding planned far in advance.
The story also appeared in a September 28, 1995 San Francisco Chronicle interview with Nancy’s sister, Ellen Simon.
Ellen discussed a script inspired by her younger sister’s experience and described a marriage that was intended to be ended quickly.
A later 2012 Esquire profile, written by Mike Sager, offered a similar account. It described Harrelson marrying Neil Simon’s daughter while vacationing in Mexico and the couple returning the following day to arrange a divorce, only to find the relevant office closed.
The exact legal timeline is less certain than the basic relationship history. Some biographies describe the marriage as lasting approximately ten months, while other accounts give a shorter duration.
The Internet Broadway Database records the marriage as lasting from 1985 to 1986, without establishing a precise number of months.
Their connection to Broadway
Harrelson and Nancy were both associated with Neil Simon’s theatrical world during the 1980s.
Harrelson worked as a standby in the original Broadway production of Biloxi Blues, while Nancy’s professional experience included production assistance on the same play, according to Peninsula Players’ historical account.
A standby is an actor prepared to take over a role when the scheduled performer cannot appear.
These connections place both Nancy and Harrelson within the same professional theatre environment during that period, although their shared credits do not establish the precise circumstances of their first meeting.
Harrelson began appearing on the television sitcom Cheers in 1985 and subsequently developed a major film career.
Nancy’s documented theatre work continued after their divorce. In 1986 and 1987, she directed regional productions of Biloxi Blues.
Her professional career in theatre
Nancy Simon’s theatre career included several different behind-the-scenes responsibilities.
Her documented work shows a progression from production assistance to directing professional stage productions.
Early film work and Broadway’s Little Me
Film databases, including ShotOnWhat, list Nancy Simon as a production assistant on the 1979 film Chapter Two.
The film was adapted from Neil Simon’s play and starred James Caan and Marsha Mason. Nancy’s reported role was in production rather than acting.
Her Broadway work is more directly established.
In 1982, Nancy was credited as assistant to the director of the Broadway revival of Little Me, a musical with a book by Neil Simon, music by Cy Coleman, and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh.
The revival ran from January 21 to February 21, 1982.
The Internet Broadway Database identifies her exact responsibility as assistant to the director.
That distinction matters. The credit establishes her involvement in a Broadway production, but it does not identify her as the production’s director.
Directing Biloxi Blues in 1986
Nancy’s responsibilities expanded when she directed Biloxi Blues at Peninsula Players in Wisconsin.
The play, written by Neil Simon, follows Eugene Morris Jerome, a young American soldier undergoing military training during the Second World War.
A September 2018 historical article from Peninsula Players explains how Nancy became involved in the production.
According to the theatre, Nancy had previously worked as a production assistant on the original Broadway staging of Biloxi Blues. Producer Jim McKenzie then gave her an opportunity to direct the play at Peninsula Players.
The production opened on July 29, 1986.
For Nancy, the documented change in responsibility was substantial: she moved from supporting a production to directing a regional staging of the work.
That credit establishes a specific professional role rather than a general association with her father’s career.
Another Biloxi Blues production in 1987
Nancy directed Biloxi Blues again in 1987, this time at Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut.
The production appears in the theatre’s historical archive for the 1980s.
This second directing credit demonstrates that her work on the play continued beyond the 1986 Peninsula Players production.
By July 1990, the Los Angeles Times was also identifying Nancy professionally as a director in its profile of Neil Simon, No Time for Tears.
Her documented theatre work therefore extended across several years and included both Broadway production support and responsibility for regional productions.
Nancy Simon’s work as a writer and filmmaker
Nancy’s creative activities later included fiction and filmmaking.
A November 17, 2005 Los Angeles Times feature, written by Barbara King, described her as a short-story writer and former theatre director.
The article identified several projects that help explain this part of her professional life.
Two for Tijuana
According to the Los Angeles Times, Nancy wrote a story titled Two for Tijuana and directed a short film based on it.
The newspaper reported that the film starred Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei.
The project is particularly relevant because it connects Nancy’s work as a writer with her involvement in filmmaking.
Rather than appearing only as a production assistant, she was described as directing an adaptation of her own story.
The film’s full production history, release date, and distribution details are not established by the newspaper account, so those details should not be assumed.
Drinks at the Oak Room
Nancy’s fiction writing is also associated with Drinks at the Oak Room.
The story appears in Issue 74 of The Threepenny Review, published in Summer 1998, under the byline N. E. Simon.
The 2005 Los Angeles Times profile identifies the work as Nancy Simon’s.
The newspaper also reported that the story had received the Santa Barbara Writers Conference’s Phoenix Award in 1997.
While the original award announcement is not established here, the journal’s publication record provides a specific example of her literary work.
At the time of the 2005 profile, Nancy was also working on a novel. The newspaper documented the project as a work in progress, but did not establish its eventual publication.
These writing credits extend her professional history beyond the theatre productions of the 1980s.
Marriage to David Florimbi and later life
After her marriage to Woody Harrelson ended, Nancy Simon later married painter David Florimbi.
According to the Los Angeles Times, they met in 1988 and married in Italy in 1992.
The newspaper profiled the couple in November 2005, describing their home and creative work in the Santa Barbara area of California.
The feature also identified their daughter, Sophia Florimbi.
By that period, Nancy was being described primarily through her fiction writing and previous theatre work, while David was working as a visual artist.
The same Los Angeles Times article documented Nancy’s involvement in community activities, including volunteering as an adult literacy tutor and helping children who had experienced the death of a parent.
Those activities were reported in 2005 and should not be treated as proof of her present responsibilities.
What is known about Nancy Simon today?
Public information about Nancy Simon’s later life is limited.
When Neil Simon died in August 2018, The Washington Post identified Nancy and her sister Ellen among his surviving daughters. The obituary described them as living in Santa Barbara, California, at that time.
That historical information does not establish Nancy’s present residence or marital status as of October 2026.
Her documented career, however, extends well beyond the relationship for which she is often searched. The Broadway and regional theatre archives establish her production and directing responsibilities, while the Los Angeles Times and The Threepenny Review preserve examples of her later creative writing.
Those records provide a fuller picture of Nancy Simon: a member of a prominent theatrical family who also developed a professional body of work in production, directing, and fiction.
