Madeline Zima
- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Madeline Zima was born in New Haven, Connecticut,
to parents Dennis and Marie, and is the sister of actresses
Vanessa Zima and
Yvonne Zima. "Zima", a Polish surname, is
her mother's maiden name; Madeline's maternal grandfather was of Polish
descent, while her other ancestry is Italian, German, and Irish.
She and her sister Vanessa were discovered by
Woody Allen for his movie,
Alice (1990). She actually quit show
business, the week when she was urged to come in for her sixth call
back for
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992).
She came back for one more audition and booked the role of "Emma". She
booked the movie and has never stopped working since. It was both
Madeline and Julianne Moore's first film
and was directed by Academy Award-winning director and writer,
Curtis Hanson. Madeline won
critical notice for her first film role.
Madeline followed that dramatic thriller with a short film that
Daryl Hannah directed. It was a Sundance
favorite called
The Last Supper (1995), where
Madeline, as a tiny wily child, scared away her mother's abusive
boyfriend by convincing him that she and her mother were cannibals. She
followed that with the comedies,
Mr. Nanny (1993), Our Song, a pilot
with George Hamilton, and
finally The Nanny (1993). By
this time, the pilot of
The Nanny (1993) was picked up and
Madeline moved from New York to L.A., when
The Nanny (1993) became a hit show.
She has starred in TV films:
The Secret Path (1999).
Her sister, Yvonne Zima played the
seven-year-old counterpart to her characters. She played the daughter
of the late John Ritter and
Marg Helgenberger on
Lethal Vows (1999).
After a worldwide search in all English-speaking countries, Madeline
was the choice to play Lucille Ball as a
teenager, in the CBS mini-series,
Lucy (2003) (aka "Redhead"). She
followed that up playing the wicked stepsister of
Hilary Duff in
A Cinderella Story (2004).
In a return to television, she agreed to play the mysterious and
destructive character "Mia" on the hit Showtime series,
Californication (2007).
to parents Dennis and Marie, and is the sister of actresses
Vanessa Zima and
Yvonne Zima. "Zima", a Polish surname, is
her mother's maiden name; Madeline's maternal grandfather was of Polish
descent, while her other ancestry is Italian, German, and Irish.
She and her sister Vanessa were discovered by
Woody Allen for his movie,
Alice (1990). She actually quit show
business, the week when she was urged to come in for her sixth call
back for
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992).
She came back for one more audition and booked the role of "Emma". She
booked the movie and has never stopped working since. It was both
Madeline and Julianne Moore's first film
and was directed by Academy Award-winning director and writer,
Curtis Hanson. Madeline won
critical notice for her first film role.
Madeline followed that dramatic thriller with a short film that
Daryl Hannah directed. It was a Sundance
favorite called
The Last Supper (1995), where
Madeline, as a tiny wily child, scared away her mother's abusive
boyfriend by convincing him that she and her mother were cannibals. She
followed that with the comedies,
Mr. Nanny (1993), Our Song, a pilot
with George Hamilton, and
finally The Nanny (1993). By
this time, the pilot of
The Nanny (1993) was picked up and
Madeline moved from New York to L.A., when
The Nanny (1993) became a hit show.
She has starred in TV films:
The Secret Path (1999).
Her sister, Yvonne Zima played the
seven-year-old counterpart to her characters. She played the daughter
of the late John Ritter and
Marg Helgenberger on
Lethal Vows (1999).
After a worldwide search in all English-speaking countries, Madeline
was the choice to play Lucille Ball as a
teenager, in the CBS mini-series,
Lucy (2003) (aka "Redhead"). She
followed that up playing the wicked stepsister of
Hilary Duff in
A Cinderella Story (2004).
In a return to television, she agreed to play the mysterious and
destructive character "Mia" on the hit Showtime series,
Californication (2007).