Cydia Simone Flowers is a Belizean-American fine artist, filmmaker, designer, and actress. At just 14 years old, she was a student research assistant at the University of Pennsylvania's odontology laboratory before discovering a love for filmmaking. She ultimately received her Bachelor's degree in Film and Psychology from Howard University where she produced her experimental docu-short film, Oreo. After graduating, she studied acting at Yale University's Summer Acting Conservatory before returning to Chicago where she began performing professionally whilst building FlowerStudio Productions, her multimedia storytelling studio. By 2019, she was accepted into Sundance Institute's first Director’s Collab course, where she learned naturalistic filmmaking under director Peter Sollett. The pandemic was a pivotal point for Cydia's artistry as she faced a health event which required significant rest from her careers. This prompted her to pivot to painting and interior design while recovering. Painting became her new landscape of storytelling which particularly explores her reflections on regaining a cultural and spiritual identity, primarily in relation to her ancestors. Her painting approach is deeply inspired by her experiences in front and behind the lens, as her pieces often become 4D experiences, which invite viewers into the world of the subjects of her portraits, while maintaining a mystery of their full identity. Her journey to recovery also led her to founding Maison DIA, a women’s health start up focused on creating solutions for women’s functional health. In 2023, her creative and entrepreneurial ventures were supported by Soho House’s Creative Futures Collective and mHUB Chicago's mPower Black Founders Cohort. She also made a return to film, directing the Inner Beauty music video by Lex James. Currently, she is in development as co-director of The Last Agent and continuing to build her startup.