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Madeline Zima

American actress (born 1985)

Summary

American actress (born 1985)

Field	Value
name	Madeline Zima
image	Madeline Zima in 2008.jpg
caption	Zima, November 2008
birth_name
birth_date
birth_place	New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
occupation	Actress
years_active	1992–present
relatives	{{plainlist

Vanessa Zima (sister)
Yvonne Zima (sister) Madeline Zima (born September 16, 1985) is an American actress. She portrayed Grace Sheffield on the CBS sitcom The Nanny (1993–1999), Mia Lewis on the Showtime comedy drama series Californication (2007–2011), and Gretchen Berg on the NBC series Heroes (2006–2010).

Early life

Zima was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on September 16, 1985, the daughter of Marie and Dennis Zima. Her surname means "winter" in Polish and comes from her maternal grandfather, who was of Polish descent. She has two younger sisters, Vanessa and Yvonne, both of whom are also actresses.

Career

Madeline Zima began her career when she was two years old with an appearance in a television commercial for Downy fabric softener. In 1993, as a child actress, she landed a main role as Grace Sheffield on the television show The Nanny, which lasted six seasons and ran until 1999.

In 2007, Zima played the main role of Mia Lewis in the first two seasons of the Showtime comedy-drama Californication alongside David Duchovny, appearing as a guest in series 3 & 4 through to 2011. In promotion of the fictional book her character wrote, Fucking & Punching, Zima starred in several Californication webisodes featured on YouTube. Zima has become known for her work in films including The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, A Cinderella Story, Dimples, Looking for Sunday, Once in a Very Blue Moon, Legacy, and The Collector.

In 2009, Zima joined the cast of Heroes as Gretchen Berg, Claire Bennet's quirky bisexual roommate and tentative love interest. She appeared as a guest star on several television shows, including Law & Order, JAG, and Touched by an Angel. She also guest starred in an episode of The Vampire Diaries, and in two episodes of the 2017 Twin Peaks: The Return. In 2012, she was cast in a co-starring role in the ABC drama pilot Gilded Lilys, but the series was not picked up by ABC. Zima starred in The Blondes (2019), a scripted podcast series, with her sister Yvonne.

In 2020, she appeared in HBO's Perry Mason and in 2021, in an episode of NCIS: Hawaiʻi. In 2022, she landed a recurring role as Casey Brinke / Space Case in season 4 of Doom Patrol. In 2023, Zima joined Megan Fox in S.K. Dale's 2024 sci-fi thriller Subservience.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	**	Emma Bartel
1993	Mr. Nanny	Kate Mason
1997	'Til There Was You	Gwen Moss (Age 12)
1998	**
1998	Second Chances	Melinda Judd
1999	The Secret Path	Jo-Ann Foley (Age 14)	CBS TV Movie; Also titled Chasing Secrets
2004	**	Brianna
2006	Looking for Sunday	Trisha
2008	Legacy	Zoey Martin	Direct-to-video film; also known as Pretty Little Devils
2008	Dimples	Frances
2008	Streak	Stella
2009	**	Jill Chase
2010	Trance	Jessica
2010	First Dates	Kelly	Direct-to-video film
2010	My Own Love Song	Billie
2011	The Family Tree	Mitzy Steinbacher
2011	A Monster in Paris	Maud	Voice role (English dub)
2012	Breaking the Girls	Alex Layton
2012	Crazy Kind of Love	Annie
2012	Crazy Eyes	Rebecca
2012	Lake Effects	Lily
2014	#Stuck	Holly
2014	From A to B	Samantha
2015	Weepah Way for Now	Lauren
2018	Painkillers	Chloe Clarke
2019	Bombshell	Edie
2020	The Morning After	Holly
2021	Bliss	Doris
2021	Insight	Abby
2024	Subservience	Maggie
2025	Love Is the Monster	Ana

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Law & Order	Samantha Silver	Episode: "Extended Family"
1993–1999	**	Grace Sheffield	Main role
1996	JAG	Cathy Gold	Episode: "Sightings"
1997	Touched by an Angel	Alexandra "Ally"	Episode: "Children of the Night"
1999	The Secret Path	Jo Ann Foley (age 14)	Television film; also known as Chasing Secrets
1999	Chicken Soup for the Soul	Katie	Episode: "Starlight, Star Bright"
1999	Lethal Vows	Danielle Farris	Television film
2000	**	Rachel Green	Television film
2001	**	Alexis Hall	2 episodes
2001	King of the Hill	Susan Clemmons	Voice role; 2 episodes
2001	Gilmore Girls	Lisa	Episode: "Like Mother, Like Daughter"
2003	7th Heaven	Alice Miller	Episode: "Go Ask Alice"
2003	Lucy	Teen Lucille Ball	Television film
2004	Strong Medicine	Pam	Episode: "Like Cures Like"
2006	3 lbs	Cassie Mack	Episode: "Lost for Words"
2007	Ghost Whisperer	Maddy Strom	Episode: "Mean Ghost"
2007	Grey's Anatomy	Marissa	Episode: "Forever Young"
2007–2011	Californication	Mia Lewis	Main role (seasons 1–2), 28 episodes
2009–2010	Heroes	Gretchen Berg	Recurring role, 11 episodes
2010	My Boys	Ashley	Episode: "Be a Man!"
2011	Royal Pains	Toby Thompson	Episode: "Me First"
2012	**	Charlotte	Episode: "We'll Always Have Bourbon Street"
2013	Gilded Lilys	Abigail	Unsold television pilot
2013–2014	Betas	Jordan Alexis	Recurring role, 6 episodes
2015	Grimm	Emily Troyer	Episode: "Maiden Quest"
2015	Agent X	Brenda Pelton / Molly	Episode: "Truth, Lies and Consequences"
2016	I Am Watching You	Nora	Television film
2017	Twin Peaks	Tracey Barberato	Episodes: "Part 1", "Part 2"
2019	You	Rachel	Episode: "Farewell, My Bunny"
2020	Good Girls	Lila	Episodes: "Nana", "Incentive"
2020	Perry Mason	Velma Fuller	Episode: "Chapter One"
2021	NCIS: Hawaii	Abby Nelson	Episode: "Gaijin"
2021	Hacks	Cat	Episode: "Falling"
2022–2023	Doom Patrol	Casey Brinke / Space Case	5 episodes
2024	High Potential	Mia Ashford	Season 1 Episode 4 "Survival Mode"

Directing credits

Year	Title	Notes
2018	Warm Human Magic	18 minute short

Writing credits

Year	Title	Notes
2018	Warm Human Magic	18 minute short

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist
2011	"Sails"	Hooray for Earth

Awards and nominations

Zima was nominated three times for a YoungStar Award, in 1995, 1997 and 1999, all for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy TV Series for The Nanny.

She was nominated 13 times for a Young Artist Award:

1993 – Best Young Actress Under Ten in a Motion Picture for The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
1994 – Best Youth Actress Leading Role in a Motion Picture Comedy and for Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series, shared with Benjamin Salisbury and Nicholle Tom, both for The Nanny
1995 – Best Performance by a Youth Actress as a TV Guest Star for Law & Order, and Best Performance by a Youth Ensemble in a Television Series shared with Nicholle Tom and Benjamin Salisbury, Best Performance by an Actress Under Ten in a Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actress Under Ten in a TV Series, all of them for The Nanny
1996 – Best Performance by a Young Actress in a TV Comedy Series for The Nanny
1998 – Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series by a Supporting Young Actress for The Nanny
2001 – Best Performance in a TV Movie (Drama) by a Leading Young Actress for The Sandy Bottom Orchestra

References

(December 23, 2022). "'Madeline Zima And Her Sisters Vanessa & Yvonne Zima Are All Actresses". thefamilynation.com.
(2008). "Interview: Californication's Madeline Zima is 'Haute'".
"Madeline Zima". Zima-sisters.net.
(January 20, 1992). "'Hand' Keeps 5-Year-Old's Career Rocking". [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].
Matt Zoller Seitz. (January 10, 2011). ""Californication's" atrocious masculine fantasy". Salon.
"Madeline Zima credits". TV Guide.
"FHM's 100 Sexiest Women 2009". FHM.
Andreeva, Nellie. "Zima joins ''Heroes'' for recurring role". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
Andreeva, Nellie. (February 10, 2012). "Blythe Danner, Sarah Bolger & Madeline Zima Cast In ABC Pilot 'Gilded Lilys'".
(June 12, 2019). "5 Reasons We're Excited For 'The Blondes' Podcast!".
Burlingame, Russ. (September 23, 2022). "Doom Patrol Adds Madeline Zima as Casey Brinke".
Wiseman, Andreas. (January 9, 2023). "‘Californication’ Star Madeline Zima Among Cast To Join Megan Fox & Michele Morrone In ‘Subservience’".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1985-births 20th-century-american-actresses 21st-century-american-actresses american-child-actresses american-film-actresses american-television-actresses living-people american-people-of-polish-descent actresses-from-new-haven,-connecticut

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