Biography
Date of Birth
16 December 1985, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Birth Name
Madeline Rose Zima
Nickname
Mad
Madsters
Maddie
Height
5' 8" (1.73 m)
Mini Biography
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).
Trivia
Older sister of actresses Vanessa Zima and Yvonne Zima
Was cast to play a teen-aged Lucille Ball in a movie/mini-series for CBS for 2003. This was a period piece were Madeline would play the I Love Lucy (1951) star from ages 13 to 18 and was scripted to film a scene with a teen-aged Bette Davis, with whom Ball attended drama school. For the role, Madeline would have to cut her long hair in a bob. The movie was tentatively-titled the "I Love Lucy" movie or "Redhead". The movie's final title was Lucy (2003).
Played a character named Rachel Green in the movie The Sandy Bottom Orchestra (2000) - her little sister Yvonne played the first Rachel Greene on the television series, ER (1994).
Parents: Dennis and Maria
She and her sisters have their own website, The ZIMA Sisters' Official Home Page. Fan letters can be sent via email from the site, and Miss Zima answers as many of them as she can.
Was considered for the lead role in The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005).
Voted #64 in FHM's "Sexiest Women in the World" (2009).
Voted #5 "Sexiest Women in the World" FHM Online (2009).
Madeline sings, plays guitar, horseback rides, writes songs, and she writes screenplays.
She loves to snowboard, paint, dance and swim and spends lots of time with her sisters who are also actresses and writers.
Madeline learned to play a violin for her role in the made-for television movie "The Sandy Bottom Orchestra".
Describes herself as very shy and says her sisters usually have to talk to guys for her.
Is set to begin filming the television show, Californication (2007), in June and which will air in August 2007. [May 2007]
Lives in Santa Clarita, CA and is being home-schooled through the Laurel Springs Home School program. Continues to act.
Is set to begin filming the movie Legacy (2008), due in theaters in 2006, in Los Angeles, CA. [November 2005]
Lives in Los Angeles, California. Continues to act and write screenplays. [March 2006]
Zima is Polish for winter.
Her acting mentors were her former The Nanny (1993) co-stars Fran Drescher and Charles Shaughnessy.
Born on the same date as Max Minghella.
Is of Portuguese descent.
Quotes
It would be nice to not have to prove myself and for people to know that I'm good and can play a role. Whatever role that is that lets people know that I can play the next role is what I want to do.
I took Latin and Spanish. I can speak a very small amount of Spanish, but Latin has sort of gone away! Unless I was joining the Catholic Church, there would be no need to learn Latin.
Strike the right balance between your outfit and makeup. Make a statement with one, not both.
I'm very spiritual. I meditate every day. I don't know if that's surprising or not, but I've been doing that since I was 16 every day, so that's like kind of my thing. I'm really a hippie-chick at heart.
It's just not a good idea to drink and drive; that is just common sense. But common sense is not that common!
Ninety-nine percent of the time, when it comes down to it, if I have the choice between a great role and seeing a new guy, I would probably go for the great role because I figure if the guy's really that great that he'll be around once I'm done with the movie.
If you're not kind, then you won't be attractive to me personally because that spirit shines through and makes people attractive.
I want to direct one day. I want to write my own thing and really be behind the scenes because you have more creative control.
I grew up with a lot of people who are famous now. I was friends with Hilary and Haley Duff. They are such lovely girls. I have watched their careers blossom, which I am really happy for. I grew up with Ashley Tisdale; we used to both live in Valencia, so we used to hang out back in the day.
When you do well at an audition, it is the highest high you can achieve because you just beat yourself. You became whatever it was, for a minute. It's a great feeling when that happens.
My sisters are my best friends and my most staunch supporters. They're always there to help me through every audition, through interviews, and through everything. Hopefully, I find some guy that I love as much as them some day. They are the best things in my life, and I would be completely lost without them.
I think a great first date would be something different... not like movies or going to dinner... going rock climbing together... doing an activity and then going to dinner, so that you guys share an experience, and then you have something to talk about, and it's not the same old thing.
I've only gotten directly offered two or three movies, ever. I don't have the luxury of being able to say no a lot, and I don't really have the luxury of just getting to pick and choose certain things. If I did, I probably would choose even more different roles than I've played.
