The Nanny

Background:

“I love drama, I feel that that’s much easier. They say that dying is easy and comedy is hard. Comedy is definitely more challenging but I love doing both.” Madeline Zima

American actress hailed from New Haven, Connecticut Madeline Zima, the older sister of actresses Vanessa and Yvonne Zima, first came to the attention of public playing daughter Emma on the Rebecca De Mornay successful thriller “The Hand the Rocks the Cradle” (1992), from which she picked up her first of 10 Young Artist nominations. She gained even more recognition and popularity with her six-year turn as young Grace on the television sitcom “The Nanny” (1993-1999), which brought her three YoungStar nominations and additional five Young Artist nominations. More recently, Zima is known by television viewers as one of David Duchovny's bedmates on the Showtime dramedy “Californication” (2007). Zima has also guest starred in such television series as “Law and Order,” “Touched by an Angel,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Ghost Whisperer” and “Grey's Anatomy,” and made several TV films, including “The Secret Path” (1999) and “The Sandy Bottom Orchestra” (2000, earned a Young Artist nomination).

In addition to her film debut, “The Hand the Rocks the Cradle” (1992),Zima has acted in other movies like “Mr. Nanny” (1993), “Second Chances” (1998), “A Cinderella Story” (2004, with Hillary Duff), “Looking for Sunday” (2006) and “Dimples” (2007). Her upcoming projects include “Legacy” (2008), “Trance” (2008) and “Driving Lessons” (2009).

Zima is a single.

Brisk Maddie

Childhood and Family:

Madeline Rose Zima was born on September 16, 1985, in New Haven, Connecticut, to parents Dennis Zima, a computer programmer, and Maria Zima, a writer. She spent part of her childhood in such places as Phillipsburg, New Jersey, and New York before her family settling in Los Angeles, California. Maddie has two younger sisters, Vanessa (born on December 17, 1986) and Yvonne (born on January 16, 1989), both of whom also pursue acting career.

Unlike her sisters who go to a public school, Maddie was home-schooled. Telling about her experience, she stated, “It is a lot less pressure. And you get to spend time with yourself, to find out who you really are.” She enjoys camping, roller skating, swimming, horseback riding, writing songs and spending her free time with her sisters. She also sings and plays guitar.

The Hand the Rocks the Cradle

Career:

Madeline Zima began her career as a child. After getting modeling gigs and spots in a number of television commercials, she moved on to the big screen with a role as Emma Bartel, the daughter of Annabella Sciorra, on the psycho thriller “The Hand the Rocks the Cradle” (1992), which starred Rebecca De Mornay as wicked nanny Peyton Flanders. The film was a success at the box office and under the direction of Oscar winning Curtis Hanson, Zima's debut performance earned positive reviews. In the following year, the 8-year-old Zima was nominated for a Young Artist Award in the category of Best Young Actress Under Ten in a Motion Picture.

Still in 1993, Zima made a guest appearance in an episode of “Law & Order” called “Extended Family” and had a small role in the independent family/comedy film “Mr. Nanny,” for director Michael Gottlieb, as well as a starring role in the Daryl Hannah short “The Last Supper,” portraying a young child whose life id eclipsed by her mother's scurrilous boyfriend. The latter project became a darling in the Sundance Film Festival.

“'The Nanny' I feel very lucky because the cast is wonderful, and I love to act. It's fun pretending to be someone else. In real life, I'm just a regular kid with two younger sisters.” Madeline Zima

However, the vigorous girl did not enjoy another shot to fame until she joined the cast of the comedy series “The Nanny,” co-created by and starring Fran Drescher. The CBS show a hit and ran for six years until 1996. Zima herself, who played the youngest of three siblings, Grace Sheffield, received several Young Artist nominations for Best Performance by a Young Actress - TV Comedy Series and three YoungStar nominations for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy TV Series.

During her stint on “The Nanny,” Zima kept herself busy pursuing other projects. She played 12-year-old Gwen on Scott Winant's romance/comedy “'Til There Was You” (1997), acted along side sisters Vanessa and Yvonne on Karen Leigh Hopkins' “The Rose Sisters” (1998) and appeared as Melinda Judd on the indie-drama “Second Chances” (1998). On the small screen, she guest starred in episodes of “JAG” (1996) and “Touched by an Angel” (1997) and starred as the daughter of Crystal Bernard and grandchild of Ron White on the based-on-book drama film “The Secret Path” (1999), in which sister Yvonne played Zima's character, Jo Ann, at age 7.

After the demise of the show, Zima continued to act in the telefilms “Lethal Vows” (1999), opposite John Ritter and Marg Helgenburg, and “The Sandy Bottom Orchestra” (2000), where she nabbed a Young Artist nomination for Best Performance in a TV Movie (Drama) - Leading Young Actress for her portrayal of a classical violinist, Rachel Green. She next participated in the short film “The Big Leaf Tobacco Company,” which starred and directed by Alan Rich, and had guest spots in such series as “Gilmore Girls” and “The Nightmare Rooms” (all 2001) before winning the role of Lucille Ball as a teenager on the CBS miniseries “Lucy” (2003). A year later, Zima revisited the big screen to play the evil stepsister of Hilary Duff in the Mark Rosman-helmed “A Cinderella Story.” Discussing about the movie, she said, “Let's take a minute and reflect on the things we've been through while shooting this movie. Well, we were waxed. We went through a car wash with actual wash rollers hitting us over and over again in the soapy suds for two days.”

Returning to spotlight following a short lived hiatus, Zima undetook the supporting role of Trisha on the drama film “Looking for Sunday” (2006), along side Michael Weston, Katharine Towne and Spence Decker, and guested as Cassie Mack and Maddy Strom on the CBS medical drama “3 lbs” (2006) and the Jennifer Love Hewitt drama/fantasy series “Ghost Whisperer” (2007), respectively. She had a starring role on the independent horror/mystery film “Dimples” (2007), opposite Torsten Voges, Gabrielle Carteris, Elliott Grey, Ashley Peldon, among others. Still in that same year, Zima returned to series TV as a regular on Showtime's comedy/drama, “Californication,” starring David Duchovny as writer Hank Moody. There, she portrayed Mia Lewis, a fan of Hank. After the series ended its first season in October 2007, she appeared as Marissa on an episode of the hit series “Grey's Anatomy” called “Forever Young,” which was aired on November 15, 2007.

Recently, the 23-year-old Zima has completed filming “Legacy” (2008), a comedy/drama film directed by Irving Rothberg and starring Haylie Duff as Lana Stevens and Zima herself as Zoey Martin. She will also play Jessica in the horror “Trance” (2008), opposite Dominique Swain, Kirk Kepper and Jeremy London, and Jill in the crime “The Midnight Man” (2008), helmed and co-written by Marcus Dunstan. She is now filming the comedy/drama “Driving Lessons” (2009), scripted by Mark Lisson. Among her costars in the movie are Dermot Mulroney, Hope Davis, Max Thieriot, Brittany Robertson, Gabrielle Anwar and Selma Blair.

“I would love to be a director. Steven Spielberg-watch out! 'Jurassic Park' is one of my favorite movies. The movies I direct will have more romance in them.” Madeline Zima

Awards:
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