Madeline Rose Zima (born September 16, 1985) is an
American actress. She is mostly known for her six years as
Grace Sheffield on the
TV Series The Nanny or more recently as Mia Lewis on the
Showtime dramedy Californication and as Gretchen on
Heroes.
In 2009, Madeline placed #5 on
FHMs 100 Sexiest Women in the World list.Early life
Zima was born in
New Haven, Connecticut, to Marie and Dennis Zima. She has two younger sisters,
Vanessa and
Yvonne, both of whom are also actresses.
Her surname means "
winter" in Polish and comes from her paternal grandfather who was from Poland.
Career
Zima began her career at the age of 24 months when she was chosen as a
toddler to appear in a
television commercial for
Downy fabric softener.
["'Hand' Keeps 5-Year-Old's Career Rocking". January 20, 1992. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.] She played the role of
Grace Sheffield on the
television show The Nanny for six years. Zima has become known for her work in films such as
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and having most recently appeared in the
Hilary Duff film
A Cinderella Story and the soon to be released films:
Dimples,
Looking for Sunday,
Once in a Very Blue Moon and
Legacy alongside Hillary Duff's sister Haylie Duff.
In 2007, Zima played Mia Cross, a sexually precocious and worldly 16-year old, on the series
Californication. Zima returned for a second season of
Californication in 2008 reprising her role as bratty 17-year-old Mia. In promotion of Mia's book,
Fucking and Punching, Zima starred in several
Californication webisodes that are featured on
YouTube. In 2009, Zima joined the cast of
Heroes as Gretchen,
Claire Bennet's quirky bisexual roommate and tentative love interest.
[blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2009/06/nbc-teases-heroes-hot-cheerleader-what-else-is-new.html]
She stars as Jill in the 2009 release
The Collector.
[IMDb]
Filmography
Awards and nominations
She was nominated three times for a YoungStar Award at the YoungStar Awards, in 1995, 1997 and 1999 all of them for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy TV Series for
The Nanny (1993).
She was also nominated thirteen times for a Young Artist Award at the
Young Artist Awards:
- 1993 - Best Young Actress Under Ten in a Motion Picture for The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992)
- 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 (1993)
- 1995 - Best Performance by a Youth Actress as a TV Guest Star for Law & Order (1990), 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 (1993)
- 1996 - Best Performance by a Young Actress in a TV Comedy Series for The Nanny (1993)
- 1998 - Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series by a Supporting Young Actress for The Nanny (1993)
- 2001 - Best Performance in a TV Movie (Drama) by a Leading Young Actress for The Sandy Bot
