Madeline Zima

Zima was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on September 16, 1985, the daughter of Marie and Dennis Zima.^[2] Her surname means "winter" in Polish and comes from her maternal grandfather, who was of Polish descent.^[3] She has two younger sisters, Vanessa and Yvonne, both of whom are also actresses.^[4]

Madeline Zima began her career when she was two years old with an appearance in a television commercial for Downy fabric softener.^[5][2] 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.^[2]

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 star in seasons 3 & 4 through to 2011.^[2] In promotion of the fictional book her character wrote, Fucking & Punching, Zima starred in several Californication webisodes featured on YouTube.^[6] Zima has become known for her work in films including The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,^[7] A Cinderella Story,^[7] Dimples,^[7] Looking for Sunday,^[7] Once in a Very Blue Moon,^[7] Legacy,^[7] and The Collector.^[7]

In 2009, Zima joined the cast of Heroes^[8] as Gretchen Berg, Claire Bennet's quirky bisexual roommate and tentative love interest.^[9] She appeared as a guest star on several television shows, including Law & Order,^[7] JAG,^[7] and Touched by an Angel.^[7] She also guest starred in an episode of The Vampire Diaries, and in two episodes of the 2017 Twin Peaks: The Return.^[7] In 2012, she was cast in a co-starring role in the ABC drama pilot Gilded Lilys,^[10] but the series was not picked up by ABC. Zima starred in The Blondes (2019), a scripted podcast series, with her sister Yvonne.^[11]

In 2020, she appeared in HBO's Perry Mason^[7] and in 2021, in an episode of NCIS: Hawaiʻi.^[7] In 2022, she landed a recurring role as Casey Brinke / Space Case in season 4 of Doom Patrol.^[12] In 2023, Zima joined Megan Fox in S.K. Dale's 2024 sci-fi thriller Subservience.^[13] In 2026, she played a guest role in the CBS medical-mystery series Watson.

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