In music, she was a pianist, (contralto) singer, composer and arranger. She was best known for her jazz and blues, but also played and sang classical, R&B, soul, and gospel music.

She was frequently discriminated against and became involved in civil rights, particularly in the 1960s. She wrote one of her most well-known songs "Mississippi Goddam" relating to the murder of Medgar Evers in June 1963, and the September 1963 Ku Klux Klan bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed 4 girls and injured dozens other people.

Nina Simone had one child, a daughter named Lisa Celeste Stroud, stage name Lisa Simone, born September 12, 1962. Lisa also is a singer, and an actress.

Nina had been under treatment for breast cancer, but died in her sleep died April 21, 2003 in Carry-le-Rouet, France. Her ashes were spread across several countries in Africa.
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