Madeline Zima Biography

Birth Name : Madeline Rose Zima

Date of Birth : 16 September 1985, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Height : 5' 8" (1.73 m)

Occupation : Actress

American actress Madeline Rose Zima was born on September 16, 1985 in New Haven, Connecticut. The sister of actresses Yvonne Zima and Vanessa Zima, she has appeared in a number of films and TV series. She grew up in Pennsylvania, and early on in her career, she worked with a New York agent who enabled her to do modeling and commercials. Skilled at comedy, improv, and drama, Madeline Zima and her sister, Vanessa, were discovered by Woody Allen. They were soon cast in his movie, Alice. Madeline was actually acting at a very young age, since at 23 months, she was chosen to appear on a national commercial for Downy fabric softener.

Madeline followed that dramatic thriller with a short film that Daryl Hannah directed that was a favorite at Sundance 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). On "The Nanny" (1993), where writing changed daily, Madeline honed her comic timing on the six-year CBS comic hit that is now a linchpin of the Lifetime daily programming. By this time, the pilot of "The Nanny" (1993) was picked up and Madeline moved from the East Coast to L.A., when "The Nanny" (1993) became a hit show.

Madeline had has a string of independent films added to her resume. She stars in Dimples (2008), a horror film. In Looking for Sunday (2006), a coming-of-age drama, she plays the likable yoga instructor girlfriend of Michael Weston. She recently wrapped the black comedy Legacy (2008) (V), about three sorority sister murder suspects, where Madeline is one of the suspects. In the pilot, "3 lbs." (2006), produced by Peter Ocko, she plays a violinist again, this time with a brain tumor. Reviews in Entertainment Weekly said her performance was the only reason to watch the show. In a return to television, she agreed to play the mysterious and interesting character "Mia" on the new Showtime series.