Her professional debut took place in December 1895, at the Teatro da Rua dos Condes in Lisbon, as part of her mother's company, in the play Madame Sans-Gêne, by Victorien Sardou and Émile Moreau.

Shortly after returning to Portugal, she was hired by the D. Maria II National Theatre, where she debuted in a play called Família Americana.

This caused conflict with the actress Rosa Damasceno, who was in residence at that theatre and, despite her age, did not want to give up the role of the "naΪf" to younger artists.

The success of A Doll's House in Rio de Janeiro was so great that the expenses of traveling to Brazil were fully covered within a month.

She played La Dame de chez Maxim, a farce by Georges Feydeau and some of the pieces she had debuted in Brazil.

[1][2][3][4][5] In 1908, for reasons that are not clear, she withdrew from the theatre, not returning until 1921 when she performed in Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance at the Teatro Politeama in Lisbon.

Divorcing Erico Braga, Simões joined the Rey Colaço-Robles Monteiro theatre company at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos.